My Best Friend
by wellthen44
Summary: Katniss doesn't meet Gale in the woods, but Peeta. How will she deal with the fact that her best friend could die?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games :(**

I remember the first time I met Peeta.

It was about a month after my father had died in the mine explosion, and my mother was just ignoring me and Prim, dwelling in her own depression. Prim was silently crying, curled up in a ball on our bed, starving. That was when I had it.

I ran out into the woods that my father had brought me to. I sat on a log and started crying for what felt like years. But then I thought of Prim, sweet, little Prim, dying of hunger. I stood up and walked over to the tree where my father hid his bow and arrow. I took them out and hooked the bow into the bowstring. I looked up into a tree and saw a squirrel, eating an acorn.

Bingo.

I looked at the squirrel and did what my father had taught me to do. I aimed, pulled back the arrow, and released. I shot it through the neck and it fell to the ground. I smiled.

"You've got quite an aim there."

I spun around and saw a boy about my age, with blond hair and blue eyes. I'd seen him in school before, but I couldn't remember his name. But what I did know that he was a merchant. And Seam kids just don't hang out with merchant ones.

"Katniss, right?" he asked smiling. He was leaning against a tree and had a bow and arrow in his hands that were similar to mine.

"Uh... yes?"

"I'm Peeta." Peeta. That was his name. "I could teach you how to shoot better. I know how to get them in the eye every time."

"No thanks" I whispered, looking down.

"Why not?" he asked, stepping forward. I stepped back. This guy was a freak.

"I-I don't know you."

"Well, you could get to know me." I didn't respond. "Come on. You are the only person I've ever seen come in here besides me. Can't we become friends?"

I looked him in the eye. "I'm from the Seam. You're from the town. You have money. I don't. You don't have any need to be here. I need to keep my family from starving."

He looked a little hurt. "Okay" he said. He walked away, very, very slowly. He was moving an inch per minute. And it annoyed the crap out of me.

"Fine!" I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. "I'll be friends with you."

He turned around and looked at me with a big smile. And I knew that I had not made a mistake.

Over the years, Peeta had taught me a lot about hunting, probably more than my father could have. One time I asked him where he learned how to do all of it, and he said that he taught himself. He had no need to hunt because of all the money he had, so he learned to hunt and would walk around the Seam, giving game to starving families for free. He was probably the most generous person in the world.

Peeta was not only good at hunting, but he was an amazing baker. He once gave me one of his cheesy buns and I fell in love with them. He saw my expression as I bit into it and laughed. "Well, someone likes my baking."

I peeled my eyes open and looked out the window. It was just starting to get light out. I stood up, got dressed into my father's hunting jacket and boots, grabbed my game bag, and walked out the door. I walked into the woods and got my bow and arrow out from its tree.

I started walking when someone pulled me into a bear hug from behind. I jabbed them in the stomach with my elbow and prepared to shoot them to death when I noticed it was Peeta.

"You scared the crap out of me!" I yelled. He started laughing hysterically. I rolled my eyes and helped him up with a smile. No matter how hard I tried, I could never stay mad at Peeta.

"S-Sorry" he said laughing. When he retained himself, he stopped smiling. "Just trying to brighten the mood, it being Reaping day and all."

I sighed. He knew that this was a hard year for me becasue it was Prim's Reaping. He must have seen my expression because he smiled. "Hey, it'll be fine."

I smiled a little. "We can only hope."

When we finished hunting, we bid godbye to eachother and lugged our game bags home. I opened the front door to my house and saw Prim waiting for me. "Hey" I said.

"Hi" she said without smiling.

"It'll be fine" I said quoting Peeta.

"We can only hope" she muttered. That was what I said.

My mother walked into the room, holding a blue dress that looked like it would fit me. "You can go get changed into this" she said quietly. I took it and walked away, without a word. I had never forgiven my mother for abandoning Prim and I when we needed her the most.

When I was finished changing, I let my mother braid my hair. It was one of the only things I let her do. I heard someone walk into the room and saw Prim, her hair in two braids, wearing a white blouse and a blue skirt. My first Reaping outfit.

"Well, don't you look beautiful" I said.

"Not as beautiful as you" she said with a small blush. I smiled at her.

We walked out the door and started heading towards the town squre. Prim held onto my hand with her life. I knew she would never let go anytime soon.

When we got to the square, Prim clutched my hand even tighter. "It'll be okay" I whispered to her. She forced a small smile.

We checked into the square and I went to the place where all the sixteen year-old girls stood. I just stood in the middle of all the whispering girls. I didn't have any girl friends. Peeta was my only friend.

"She'll be fine, ya know" said someone. I turned around to see Madge, the mayors daughter, looking at me. Well, that wasn't awkward. "She'll be okay."

"I know" I said, not in the mood to get into deep discussion. I turned when I heard the sound of a microphone getting turned on.

"Welcome everyone! To the 74th annual Hunger Games!" said the District Twelve escort, Effie Trinket. She was wearing a pink wig and a purple suit covered in ruffles and sparkles. "Before we begin, we have a special treat, all the way from the Capitol!" She turned to look at the screen that showed this video about how the Capitol overthrew the uprising Districts and why the Hunger Games were made blah blah blah. I looked over into the sixteen year-old boy section and saw Peeta staring at me. He gave me a small smile. I smiled back.

"Well, wasn't that wonderful!" squealed Effie. It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes. "Now, ladie's first." She walked over to the ladies bowl and rumaged her hand through the countless number of slips. When she picked one, she walked back over to the microphone and opened it. She read the name aloud. "Primrose Everdeen."

My chest immeadiatly tightened as I looked at Prim. I hoped it was all a dream, but I watched in horror as the Peacekeepers lead my little sister to the stage. I pushed my way through the crowd. "I volunteer!" I yelled. "I volunteer as tribute!" Prim looked at me, her eyes wide with fear.

"NO! Katniss NO!" she screamed, hugging onto my waist.

"Prim, please let go. Go find mom" I said hurridly, trying so hard not to cry.

"NO!" she screamed. Then Peeta came out of the crowd of boys and pulled Prim off my waist. He looked at me with fear written all over his face. Then he carried Prim over to my mother as I walked up the steps to the stage.

"Well, what's your name?" aske Effie.

"Katniss Everdeen" I said.

"That was your sister, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well, let's have a big round of applause for District Twelve's first volunteer!" said Effie. No one clapped. Instead, they took three fingers, kissed them, and held them in the air. It took all of my willpower not to cry.

"Now for the boys" said Effie. She walked over to the boys bowl, picked a slip, walked over to the microphone, and opened it. "Peeta Mellark."

I clamped my hands over my mouth to keep me from screaming. I looked over at Peeta in the crowd, who had horror written all over his face. I felt a tear slide down my face. I could never kill my best friend. I'd rather have died.

When he reached the stage, we looked at eachother and shared a glance that only the other could read. I'm sorry.

"Well, shake hands" said Effie, ruining the moment. He held out his hand, but instead I pulled him into a hug.

You could hear a pin drop.

I pulled away and he saw I had tears in my eyes. He wiped one away with his thumb. Then we were lead into the Justice building by Peacekeepers and were brought into separate rooms. I sat in one of the cushioned chairs provided and tried to clear my mind. But I couldn't. If Peeta died, I would never be the same. If I died, then at least my family could be fed by Peeta. But if both Peeta and I died... I chose not to think about that.

The doors opened and before I knew it, I was enveloping a sobbing Prim in my arms. "Shh it's okay. It's okay." She pulled away and looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"Just... try to win?" she asked. I gulped.

"I'll try."

"I know that it will be hard... with Peeta..." A tear escaped her eye. Over the years, she and Peeta had become like brother and sister. He adored her and she looked up to him. It was the same with Peeta's brothers, Rye and Grain. They were like my brothers. Even Peeta's father was like my father, but I just downright hated his mother.

"Hey, look" I said. "I'll do what I can, and if it comes down to us, I'll cross tha bridge when I come to it."

She smiled a little. I stood up and walked over to my mother.

"You can't leave her again."

"I-"

"No, you can't. No matter what you see, you need to be there for Prim."

"I will. I promise" she said, a tear escaping her eye. I felt a tear trikle down my face too and I pulled her into a hug.

"I love you" I whispered. She seemed shocked at first.

"I love you too" she said.

The door opened. "Time to go" said the Peacekeeper. They both started walking out.

"I love you both!" I called as the door closed. I waited a minute on the chair and the door opened again. I looked over to see Madge.

"I-I know you weren't expecting me here, but I got you something." She held out her hand and revealed a Mockingjay pin. "Everyone's allowed to wear a token in the arena, from their District. I want you to wear this." She took my hand and opened it. She dropped the pin in my palm and looked at me.

"Thank you" I said. "I'll be sure to wear it."

She just nodded. we were silent for a minute. Then she spoke up. "I already visited Peeta. He's worried about you."

I wasn't surprised. Of course he was worried about me and not himself. That's just the way Peeta works.

"He should be worried about himself" I said quietly.

"I have no doubt that he would do anything to save you. Heck, he's probably already coming up with a plan."

"A plan for what?"

"To get you out alive."

Knowing Peeta, that was probably true. Like I said, he's always thinking of others. Of course he would die for me. Damn him.

"I'd do the same" I whispered. She nodded and the Peacekeeper opened the door. "Time's up."

Madge walked out the door and glanced back at me with a sorry expression on her face. Then they closed the door and I was alone again. I let out a shaky sigh and realized what I said was true. I really would do anything to keep Peeta alive. Even if it meant dying.


	2. Chapter 2

I got led out of the Justice Building by Peacekeepers. I didn't dare look at Peeta; I knew that I would have broken down in tears if I just glanced at him. We were brought to the station where there were a bunch of cameras flashing pictures and recording every one of my movements.

It made me seriously uncomfortable.

When we got onto the train, I sat in a chair and stared out the window. I felt Peeta sit down in the seat next to me. I shifted a little and kept looking out the window, even though I knew he was looking at me. We sat like that for a while, until he spoke up.

"Katniss, you can't ignore me forever."

"I'll try."

He sighed and leaned on the back of his seat. "I'll sit here all night if I have to. You're gonna look at me."

"No I won't."

"Yes you wiil."

"No, I won't"

"Yes, you will."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

I turned to him. "No!" Then I realized what I did and face palmed. "Damn it!"

He smiled a little, then wiped it off. "It'll be alright."

I looked him in the eye. "No! It won't Peeta! That is the same exact thing that you told me in the woods, the same thing that I told Prim, the same thing that Madge told me, but no! Nothing is going to be okay in the messed up world!" I felt a tear slip down my face. I tried to wipe it away, but he noticed it.

"Katniss" he said, his voice serious. "I promise. I won't let anything happen to you."

That was when I lost it. I burst into tears. He pulled me into a hug and let me cry. I felt absolutly pathetic, but hey. Sometimes you just need a good breakdown.

I got out of Peeta's grasp when I heard the door open and close. I quickly wiped away my tears and saw what was probably the drunkest guy known to man. Haymitch, the one and only Victor of District Twelve.

"Congratualtions" he said, chugging his bottle of liquor right in front of me. I resisted the urge to gag. "As you know, I am your mentor. I'll give you advice, blah blah, motivation, blah blah, good night." Then he walked out of the room, but not before letting out a gigantic belch.

"Well that was helpful" said Peeta. I looked at him and smiled. He always knew what to say.

"Yep, the one guy who could help us is too busy getting drunk" I said.

"Hey, at least we have eachother" he said.

"You're right."

When it was time for dinner, I sat down in one of the many chairs. Peeta sat next to me, Haymitch sat across from me (unfortunatly) and Effie sat next to him. We got served heaping plates of lamb stew with rice and plums. At first Peeta and I didn't eat, but when we watched Effie and Haymitch dig in, I ate a bite and experienced heaven in my mouth. I looked at Peeta who had taken a bite. He looked like he had just bitten into heaven too.

We both finished our plates in a few minutes. Then we got seconds. And thirds. Until we couldn't eat anymore. For once in my life, I was actually satisfyed.

"Do you guys know eachother or somthin?" asked Haymitch after a long period of awkward silence.

"Yeah" I said. I looked over at Peeta. "We're best friends."

"That's too bad" Haymitch mocked. I looked down at my plate. and took a sip of water.

"But," said Haymitch, "The Capitol thinks that there is something more going on."

I nearly choked on my water. "W-what did you say?"

"The Capitol thinks you two are in love."

"Th-That's not true" said Peeta. "We're best friends."

"_Just _best friends."

"Really?" asked Effie, clearly dissappointed. "I could have sworn you loved eachother.

"We love eachother" said Peeta. "As _friends_."

That was the end of the discussion. We all just sat there for a minute. The peeta spoke up. "I'm going to bed."

"Me too" I said. We both got up from our chairs and headed down the hall to our rooms. Peeta's room was right next to mine.

"Good night" he said with a small smile.

"See ya in the morning" I said. With out thinking, I pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek.

Kissed. His. Cheek.

Oh. My God.

What did I do?

I immeadiatly let go and looked him in the eye. He looked at me, not knowing how to react.

"I, uh... bye." I went in my room and slammed the door. I slid my back against the wall and face palmed.

Why the hell did I do that? Now he's gonna think I like him! I don't! He's just a friend!

A really good friend...

Wait.

Do I like Peeta?

No! He's just my best friend. I can't even imagine liking him, with his curly blond hair and crystal blue eyes...

Wait.

What are you doing Katniss! Stop! You aren't supposed to fall in love! especially not him and not now!

I took a deep breath and stood up. I walked over to the closet and pulled out some baggy black pants and a green tang top. I changed and crawled under the covers in the bed. I felt my eyes get heavy and fell asleep thinking one thing.

Did I like Peeta?

"Get up sleepy head! We have a big big big day!" said Effie with way too much enthusiasum. I groaned. Effie left and I kicked the covers off. I walked over to the closet and pulled out a light blue t shirt and black tights. I put my hair in a new braid and walked out of my room.

**I really hope you guys like this.**

**Things with Peeta and Katniss get a little... awkward...**

**And will get more awkward...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games (why!?)**

When I got to the dinning room, I avoided eye contact with Peeta at all costs. No need to get all awkward in front of everyone.

Peeta was in the middle of a conversation with Haymitch "And where do we find shelter?"

"I dunno."

"Can you at least answer one of my questions?" Peeta asked, clearly frustrated.

"No."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because I don't want to."

I'd had enough. "Then how are we supposed to survive!?"

"Figure it out yourself!"

"You're our mentor you're supposed to help us!"

"No fighting!" screamed Effie.

"You want to know how to live? Well fine!" He calmed down a bit. "You gotta get sponsers. Give the people what they want. A good show." With that, he left, mumbling something about getting a drink.

I sighed and acidentally looked at Peeta. He was smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked.

"I can't believe you got that ass to actually give us some advice."

I shrugged. "It wasn't even good advice."

"Yeah it was."

"Peeta, you gotta realize that I have absolutly no charm whatsoever. I am not going to be able to win over the crowd. You on the other hand, can."

"Ka-"

"No. Let me finish. You have curly blond hair and blue eyes. I have black hair and grey eyes. You are sweet, loving and hillarious. I am stubborn and cruel."

He was silent for a minute. "You realize you just complimented me, right?"

I blushed. "Uh..." I had to get out of there. "I'll be in my room."

"Katni-" But I was already running down the hall and slamming my door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Review! I want to know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own THG**

When we got to the Capitol, the crowd started screaming and cheering our names.

"They already love us." whispered Peeta in my ear. "Looks like you do have a chance at sponsers." I blushed, remembering our little discussion.

_Since when do you blush?_

_Since you met Peeta..._

_Shut up!_

* * *

Training day.

Yipee.

We get in the elevator and I remember what Haymitch said. _Don't show them what you can do._

When Peeta and I got to the Training center, we glanced at eachother nervously. This was our first day, so we didn't really know what to do. Peeta saw something that caught his eye and started walking over to the booth. I looked around and saw a booth that covered plant types. I knew about some plants, but not others. I walked over to the booth and started sorting through the poisonus plants when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a girl with red hair looking down at me.

"Can I join you?" she asked.

"Sure" I said. She sat down next to me.

"I'm Lotus" She said with a smile.

"I'm Katniss" I said smiling back. We both started looking through the different plants. I stopped at one of the pages and tapped Lotus on the shoulder.

"This," I said, pointing to the picture, "is Nightlock. You do _not _want to eat this stuff. My father says it can kill you before it goes down your throat.

She shuddered. "That's good to know."

When was finished and about to leave, Lotus grabbed my hand. "Hey, do you maybe wanna be allies?"

I thought about it for a moment. She seemed nice, useful, and probably wouldn't kill me in my sleep. "Okay."

She smiled. "Good." I walked away and went over to the station that Peeta was at. He was painting something on his hand, but I couldn't see what.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He looked up and smiled.

"This" he said. He walked over to one of the fake trees and put his hand over it. His hand was completely camoflauged with the bark.

"That's amazing" I said in awe.

"Yeah, well, I would frost the cakes back at the bakery."

I continued to stare at his hand when he poked my shoulder I looked up at him. "I think you have a shadow." I looked behind me and saw a little girl, about Prim's age, staring at me. She immeadeatly turned away when I glanced at her. I felt a pang in my chest. She was just so... so... young...

"Earth to Katniss" said Peeta, waving a hand in my face. I looked up to see Peeta with a smirk on his face. I slapped his arm and walked away. I looked around the room and noticed one of the Careers staring at me with a smug smile.

Well, that's not freaky at all.

* * *

Opening Ceremony.

I got to meet my Prep Team for the first time. Thet waxed, bathed, and creamed me in an array of chemicals and lotions that I had never seen before. They also kept babling on about how they were so excited to meet me and how they thought Peeta and I were the most adorable couple in Panem.

"We are NOT a couple! We are _just _friends!" That shut them up.

When they left, I was left alone in the room to meet my styalist.

If they were as annoying as my Prep Team, so help me I might get my bow and arrow and just-

"Hello."

I spun around and saw a man that looked pretty normal, except for the streaks of gold eyeliner over each of his eyes. He smiled at me. "I'm Cinna, your styalist."

"I'm Katniss" I said.

"This year, we are going to try something different for District Twelve. We're not going to dress you as coal miners."

"Then what are you gonna dress us as?"

"Fire."

"_What_?"

He laughed. "Don't worry, synthetic fire."

"Okay."

So Cinna dressed me in a black suit with a cape and a head piece, braided my hair into some sort of spider web braid, applied a small amount of makeup to my face, and led me to the chariots. There I met Peeta, looking absolutely amazing. I caught him staring and slapped him on the back of the head.

"What're _you _looking at?"

"You look beautiful."

I blushed. "No, I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No I-" Just then Cinna walked in with a lighter.

"Remember, this is synthetic. You won't burn to death."

"Alright" Peeta said unconvinced. Cinna lit the lighter and set Peeta's costume ablaze. I was relieved when he didn't desintagrate into ashes. Peeta started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"It tickles!"

"Boys" I muttered. Cinna chuckled and set my costume on fire. It actually did tickle, but I didn't laugh.

"Come on" said Peeta, nudging me with his elbow. "You know you wanna laugh."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Please?" I looked at his puppy dog face and we both started laughing.

"That was the worst puppy dog face I'd ever seen" I told him.

"Hey!"

When we got onto our chariot, we stopped laughing. Peeta could tell I was nervous.

"There's nothing to be nervous about."

"If you say so" I muttered.

District One was first. Then Two. Then Three. Then Four. And it eventually came down to District Eleven. When we started going forward, I heard Cinna yell something to us, I looked behind my shoulder and saw him holding his hands together.

"What does he want us to do?" Peeta asked.

"I think he wants us to hold hands" I said. I slipped my hand into Peeta's and looked back at Cinna who was giving me a thumbs up.

When we got to the crowd, everyone immedeatly burst into srceams and cries.

"PEETA!"

"KATNISS!"

I looked over at Peeta who was waving to the crowd. I started to do the same and the crowd went ballistic. I blew kisses and caught a rose that was thrown to me.

When Peeta and I lifted our linked hands into the air, people actually started fainting. It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes. Then the chariot went into the loop where the chariots stopped. Peeta was about to let go, but I didn't want him to.

"Don't let go" I said. "I might fall out of this thing."

"Okay" he said, gripping my hand.

"Welcome Tributes" said President Snow. "To the 74th annual Hunger Games." I swear, he looked right at me. "And may the odds, be _ever _in your favor."

When we got back, Cinna, Portia, Effie and Haymitch surrounded us.

"That was brilliant!" said Effie. "Truly amazing!"

"Good show sweethearts" said Haymitch, slapping Peeta and I on the backs. "You've got them eating out of your hands."

* * *

Private Training.

I was nervous as heck. If Peeta wasn't there, I may have gone hysterical.

I tapped my foot on the floor as I waited for them to call my name. The boy tribute from District Eleven, Thresh, just went in a few minutes before.

"Relax" said Peeta, holding my knee down to keep me from bouncing it. "I know what you can do with a bow. You'll wow them."

"But you're the only other person who knows what I can do. If I miss the target, they're gonnna give me the lowest score."

There was a beep. "Katniss Everdeen" said a voice.

"You'll do great" Peeta called as I walked through the doors. I looked up at the balcony of Gamemakers.

"You may begin" said Seneca Crane, the head Gamemaker.

I walked over to the archery section, grabbed a bow and arrow, and pointed it at the target. I took a deep breath and shot the arrow.

Bullseye.

I turned to the Gamemakers with a smile, only to find that none of them were paying the slightest attention to me.

"Uh, hello?" I asked. No one turned to me.

"YO!" I screamed. Still, no one looked at me. They were all hovering over a pig with an apple in its mouth. I grabbed my bow, put an arrow in the string, targeted the apple, and released.

The arrow went flying through the crowd of Gamemakers and landed dead center in the apple. They all looked at me with wide eyes.

I bowed. "Thank you. For your consideration." And without anyone telling me to, I walked out.

**Interviews next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own THG.**

"You WHAT!" Effie screeched at me. I flinched.

"I'm SORRY! They just ticked me off! They didn't even look at me!" I told them what I did at my private training.

"Good for you sweetheart" Haymitch said. "You sure showed them."

"High five" said Peeta, raising his hand. I gave him one.

"She should not be congratulated! She could have put all of in danger! She-"

"And what would they do? Take it out on them? No!" said Haymitch. Effie let out an annoyed squeal and stopped out of the room like a five year-old girl.

I turned to Peeta. "What'd you do? Archery?"

"No" was all he said.

"Then... what did you do?"

"Something."

"You're not gonna tell me, are you."

"No."

"Ugh, fine. I'm too tired to be stubborn."

"For once" Peeta muttered. I slapped his arm and went to my room. "I'M TAKING A SHOWER!" I called.

I stripped my training uniform and went into the hot shower. I gave up trying to figure out all the buttons a long time ago, so I just stood and thought.

Did he camoflauge himself? I laughed at the thought of him painting his whole body to look like a tree. Although, knowing Peeta, he probably would have.

I stepped out of the shower, dried myself off, and grabbed some new clothes from the closet. I changed, rebraided my hair, and started walking across the room to get my shoes when I stepped on something really sharp. I cursed and hopped over to my bed. I looked at the floor and saw the pin that Madge gave me.

I'd forgotten all about it. I'd promised her that I would wear it, so I pinned it to my shirt and walked to the couch where the scores were coming on. The Careers all got tens, Lotus got a five, and the small girl from Eleven, Rue, got a seven.

Then District Twelve came on.

"Peeta Mellark" read Ceaser Flickerman who was on the television screen. "Score of ten."

"Great job!" squealed Effie.

"Good job Peeta" said Portia.

"Nice sweetheart" said Haymitch slapping him on the back.

"High five" I said holding up my hand. He slapped it back.

"Katniss Everdeen" read Ceaser. "Score of eleven."

"ELEVEN!" screamed Effie. I covered my ears.

"They must have liked your guts" said Peeta. He gave me hug. "Good job."

* * *

Interview day.

Oh no.

"I'm gonna be absolutely horrible" I told Haymitch during our preparation time.

"I agree" he said, chugging a bottle of liquor.

"Thanks" I muttered, glaring out the window.

"But," said Haymitch, "There's no shame in trying."

I looked at him. "Fine."

So, for the next three hours, Haymitch and I tried to come up with a personality for me that I could use during my interview.

"This is HOPELESS!" I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. "I'm gonna suck!"

"Look" said Haymitch seriously. "The crowd loved you and Peeta at the Opening Ceremony. What were you doing?"

"Being nice?"

"Exactly."

"Haymitch, nice isn't a word in my dictionary."

He ran his hands through his hair. "Then, just... be yourself. The nicest self you can be."

Ten minutes later I was with Effie. She spent our time trying to teach me how to walk in high-heels, but miserably failed.

"You can do it!" she cheered, clapping. "Just to the other side of the room." I tripped and fell. She sighed.

"I thought you could do it, but apparently I was wrong."

"Well," I said, "if you gave me smaller heels, then maybe I can get over the fear of breaking my legs the night before fighting for my LIFE!" I threw the heels off and stomped out of the room.

* * *

Interviews.

This isn't gonna turn out well.

I could feel it in my gut.

My Prep Team came again and they waxed and bathed me in all sorts of creams. They kept talking about my 'fantastic' entrance at the Openeing Ceremony. God, they wouldn't shut up!

When they finally left, Cinna came in. "Let's get to work."

My Prep Team came in with a bag. "What's in there?"

"Your dress" said Flavius.

"Can I see it?"

"No!" said Octavia. "It's a surprise!"

Venia wrapped a blindfold around my eyes so I couldn't see. Cinna did my makeup, braided ribbins in my hair, and finally put me in my dress. When he took of the blindfold, I looked in the mirror and saw someone completely different.

Someone beautiful.

The dress was red and dazzling with thousands of tiny sparkles that shimmered orange and yellow in the light. There was a red ribbin braided in my hair and my makeup was a gold, sparkling dust.

"Thank you" I whispered to my Prep Team and Cinna.

The team bowed their heads and walked out the door, leaving Cinna and I alone.

"I hope you like it" he said.

"I do." I turned to him. "If only my personality was as great as this dress."

"I'll be sitting in the front row, watching you. Just pretend it's you and me. Don't worry about Ceasar or the Capitol. Just be Katniss Everdeen."

We walked out of the dressing room and everyone turned to look at me. I fought off a blush and walked over to my seat. Peeta just stared at me.

"If you're gonna tell me I'm beautiful, save it" I snapped at him. He smiled.

"What's your problem?"

"I suck at wooing people. I've got as much charm as a dead slug."

Peeta laughed. "No, you have at least as much charm as an alive slug."

The boy from One was first to go. His name was Cato, and he was the creepy guy staring at me during training. The girl from One is Clove, and she kept talking about how she likes to see her knives shimmer in the moonlight. Perfect. Then came the District Two tributes, then Three, then Four, and eventually District Twelve.

"May I introduce, the girl on fire, Katniss Everdeen!" said Ceaser. I stood up and walked on stage, my heart beating out of my chest. Please let this end well...

I sat in the seat next to Ceaser and looked into the crowd. They were screaming and crying my name, telling me they loved me. Weirdos.

"So Katniss" said Ceaser. "What did you think of your costume at the Opening Ceremony?" I looked in the crowd and saw Cinna nodding.

"I loved it, after getting over the fear of burning to death." The crowd laughed.

"Well, it was stunning" he said.

I looked at Cinna who was twirling his finger. "I brought some of the fire with me tonight. Wanna see?" The crowd screamed yes. I stood up and started spinning. The hem of my dress burst into flames and the crowd went ballistic. I sat down when I started getting dizzy and the flames extinguished.

"That was wonderful." said Ceaser. "Thank you for that." He paused for the crowd to die down a little. "Now, on a serious note, I want to ask you about the Reaping."

The Reaping. The number one thing that I did not want to talk about.

"You volunteered for your little sister?" he asked.

"Y-Yes."

"Did she come to see you before you left?"

"Yes."

"And what did she say?"

"To try to win, but she knew it would be hard."

"Well why is that? You got an eleven in training!"

"P-Peeta is my best friend" I said looking at the floor. "And I could never kill my best friend, even if it meant dying myself."

"That is unfortunate" he said. "And I wish you the best of luck." He turned to the crowd.  
"We are out of time. Thank you Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire!"

As I walked off stage, Effie said "Amazing! I was crying when you told them about Peeta!"

"Good job" said Haymitch, slapping my back.

I looked at the television screen that was back stage. Peeta just came on.

"So Peeta, what's your favorite thing about the Capitol?" asked Ceaser.

"The showers are different." The crowd laughed.

"Showers?"

"Yeah. This morning I just wanted a bar of soap, and this gigantic puff of pink soap landed on my head." The crowd laughed. "Hey, do I smell like roses to you?"

Ceaser leaned in and sniffed Peeta. The crowd went hysterical with laughter.

"Do I smell like roses?" Ceaser asked. The Peeta leaned in and smelled Ceaser. It took a long time for the crowd to die down.

"Now Peeta. Do you have a girl at home? Or do you think Katniss would get jealous?"

I blushed and felt Effie and Haymitch smile behind me. "No, I don't. And I don't think Katniss has been jealous a day in her life." The crowd laughed.

"Come on. There has to be someone you like."

"Well," said Peeta. He liked someone? Peeta? My best friend? How could I not know? "There is this one girl that I've had a crush on forever." There were a bunch of awes from the crowd. "But I don't even know if she noticed."

"Well, if you go out there and win this thing, then she will have to go out with you!" There were screams of approval coming from the crowd.

"But, uh, winning won't help in my case."

"And why not?"

"Because she came here with me."

**Let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own THG**

I stood up on the roof after the interviews. I didn't look at Peeta, I couldn't bear to; I would have lost it.

I'd already changed out of my dress, took my hair out of its braid and washed off the makeup. I was wearing a black t-shirt and shorts. My loose hair was softly blowing in the wind and I had my arms crossed against my chest as I thought about Peeta.

Why?

Why did he have to love me?

Why did he have to tell me he loved me now?

It was bad enough knowing that if I died, he would be crushed. But now, he would be crushed more than I thought. And it killed me. I mean, Peeta would have lost the one person he'd cared about since he was who knows how old. Sweet, caring Peeta...

Oh. My. God.

_I like Peeta._

_I like Peeta._

_I like Peeta._

_I guess the odds are never in my favor._

"Hey."

I didn't respond.

"You can at least look at me."

I heard him sigh. "I'm sorry for sneaking up on you like that. I know that you probably hate me and-"

"No" I said.

"What?"

"I could never hate you." I turned to look at him. "And it's not you I'm angry at."

"Then who?"

"The world." He didn't speak so I continued. "I learned not to trust someone so greatly when I was young. Because when they let you down, you can never regain that trust the same way. But the problem is Peeta, I learned to trust you. And I trusted that if I die in that arena, you would learn to be okay. But now, I know that it is going to kill you." I turned to him, tears glistening in my eyes. "I needed to know that you would be okay Peeta. But if you love me, then how?"

He pulled me into a hug. "Katniss, you aren't going to die. If anything, I will die. And you will be the one coming home."

I looked him in the eyes and saw that they were filled with tears. "But there's one problem with that Peeta."

"What?"

"I love you too."

I didn't know what his reaction would be. Angry? Depressed?

Instead, he kissed me.

And it was, well, magical.

"And you need to find water. The first thing you do. Find it."

We were walking up to the roof for me to go on the hoovercraft. Haymitch was giving me some last minute advice. I was wearing a waterproof track suit with hiking boots and a thick t-shirt. I thought about last night, how Peeta and I had confessed our love and cried over the fact that one of us may have to live without the other.

Life is just great, right?

When we reached the top, I saw the gigantic hoovercraft waiting for me. I turned to Haymitch.

"Any more advice?"

"Stay alive."

I nodded and walked over to the hoovercraft. I sat in my seat and it took off.

A few minutes later, a lady came by with a thick needle. "Hold out your arm."

"What is is?" I asked.

"Your tracker" she said, taking my arm and putting in the needle.

When the hoovercraft landed, I was led by a group of Peacekeepers to my launch room. There, I saw the only person i wanted to see.

"Cinna."

"Katniss."

I walked over to him and he pulled me into a long hug. He let go and put something on my shoulder. I looked down to see the Mockingjay pin that Madge gave me.

"Thank you" I whispered. He only nodded. I wanted to tell him abot Peeta, but I didn't know how to say it.

"Uh, Cinna?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what Peeta said last night about me in his interview?"

"He said that he loved you." He paused. "Do you love him too?"

I nodded.

"Does he know?"

I nodded. "I told him."

"And how did he react?"

I looked at the floor. "He kissed me" I answered quietly. I suddenly felt panicked. I looked at Cinna. "Cinna, I can't do this."

"Yes you can. And you will."

"No I can't!"

"Look" he said calmly, gripping my shoulders. "As a styalist, I'm not allowed to bet. But if I could, I'd bet all my money on you. You are fierce, brave and got the highest score in training."

Tears filled my eyes. "Really?"

"Yes." He kissed my forehead and hugged me.

"Sixty seconds" said the voice in the speaker.

We kept hugging.

"Fifty seconds."

We kept hugging.

"Fourty seconds."

We kept hugging.

"Thrity seconds."

We let go. "I'm betting on you."

"Twenty seconds."

Cinna wiped one of my tears away. "Go find Peeta."

"Ten seconds."

I walked towards the tube and got inside it. The glass doors closed and I looked at Cinna frantically.

He nodded.

I understood.

I could do this.

The tube started to rise, higher and higher and higher and higher until the sunlight blinded my eyes. When I could see again, I looked around and saw the other twenty three tributes. Rue was all the way across from me, Lotus was next to me, Cato was three plates away from me, Clove was seven plates away from me, and Peeta was four plates away. I looked at the Cornucopia and saw just what I needed.

A bow and arrows.

A few feet away from them were another set. One for Peeta, one for me.

Peeta followed my gaze and turned to me. He shook his head.

What does that mean? Don't get them? But they're the only weapon I can use!

Then the voice sounded. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the 74th annual Hunger Games begin!"

"Fifty nine. Fifty eight. Fifty seven..."

_Get the bows._

"Fourty two. Fourty one. Fourty..."

_Don't, Peeta's saying not to._

"Thirty five. Thirty four. Thirty three..."

_But they're right there!_

"Twenty seven. Twenty six. Twenty five..."

_No. Don't._

"Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve..."

_Well... just be quick. Grab the weapons, then grab Peeta and Lotus and get out of there._

"Ten."

_You can do this._

"Nine."

_No, you can't._

"Eight."

_Yes, you can._

"Seven."

_Cinna's betting on you._

"Six."

_You got an eleven in training._

"Five."

_You are fierce._

"Four."

_You're good with a bow._

"Three."

_Get ready._

"Two."

_It's time._

"One."

_I love you Peeta._

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	6. Chapter 6

**Dear Readers,**

**This isn't going to be a chapter, but I promise to get the next one up really soon.**

**I just wanted to see if ****you**** guys had any suggestions as to continue help me continue this story, and to know if you think I'm doing a good job so far.**

**Thanks a bunch,**

**wellthen44**


	7. Chapter 7

Run.

As fast as you can.

I ran off the metal plate and towards the bows and arrows. I had just snatched up one when someone else grabbed the other. I looked up to see that it was the girl from District One. She shot an arrow at me but I ducked and started running towards Lotus who was grabbing a backpack. I grabbed her hand and looked around frantically for Peeta, but I didn't see him. Did he already run off? Was he fighting?

Was he dead?

I shook my head. I looked over and saw Clove running towards me with a knife in her hand. I heard a knife wizz past my ear and I ran faster.

We kept running for about a half an hour until I was positive we were safe. For now.

Lotus and I collapsed on the floor and took deep breaths. "We made it" I wheezed.

"Yeah" she said. She wiped a strand of her red hair out of her face and sat up. She took her bag off and unzipped it, revealing a sleeping bag, matches, some crackers, some rope, two knives, and two empty waterbottles. I opened one of the waterbottles thirstily, only to find it empty.

"Damn it" I said, twisting the cap back on. "It's empty."

"Well, they wouldn't want to make it that easy, would they?" said Lotus.

"I guess-" Just then a cannon sounded, signaling the end of the blood bath. Another sounded. And another. And another. And eleven more after that.

"I counted fifteen" said Lotus.

"Me too." I bit my lip. God, I really hoped Peeta wasn't among them. Lotus saw my expression.

"Worrying about Peeta?" she asked.

I nodded.

"He got a ten in training, I doubt he would've gone down easily."

I sighed. "You're right." This was Peeta we were talking about. The kid who annoyed the heck out of me just so he could be my friend.

After a few more minutes, we stood up and searched for a place to sleep. It was taking a long time. The sun was already going down.

"There aren't many concealed places" said Lotus.

"Yeah. Just a lot of trees..." I looked up and smiled. I turned to Lotus. "Can you climb?"

She looked up. "We're sleeping up there?"

"Yes."

"But, what if we fall off?"

"We have rope" I said, holding it up.

"Fine." She gripped the side of the tree and started climbing up. When she was a few feet in the air, I started climbing up too. We went about fourteen feet off the ground until we decided we were high enough. After a large amount of effort, we both got into the sleeping bag and tied ourselves to the tree. By the time we were ready, it was already dark.

I was about to fall asleep when I heard the anthum. I looked over at Lotus and saw that she was awake too. I looked up at the sky. The first face was the girl from Three, so that meant Clove, Cato, and the tributes from One had survived. Lotus's District partner was dead, which made her a little sad. Both tribute from Eleven lived, so that meant Rue was alive. That was where it ended, so that meant Peeta was still out there. I let out a sigh if relief.

"Do you like Peeta?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What?" she asked surprised. "I thought you said you guys were just 'friends'?"

"I thought so too. We were best friends since I was eleven." I smiled remembering that time in the woods. "And lately I have been wondering if I liked him. And last night I figured out it was true. I told him and he, uh, kissed me."

Lotus got the stupidest grin on her face. "I just love love."

I smiled. "If only we weren't here..." I looked over at the trees and saw a light and smoke. "Someone made a fire."

"Stupid" muttered Lotus. I couldn't help but feel bad for the person. I mean yes, it was cold, but that is just about the stupidest thing you can do when there are a bunch of people looking out to kill you.

Then we heard a piercing scream, and a cannon went off. Lotus and I looked at eachother. A minute later we heard a bunch of voices below us. I looked down and saw the Careers. My chest tightened.

"Did you see the way she begged?" Asked the girl from One. "'Oh, please don't kill me!'" They all laughed.

Cato turned around. "Hey! Lover Boy! Keep up!" A boy came into view, but I couln't see his face. When he walked into the moonlight, I gasped.

It was Peeta.

What?

I wanted to scream down to him, tell him to come up here and tell me why the hell he was with the Careers in the first place, but no. I couldn't.

As if sensing me, Peeta looked up and saw my face. His eyes went wide, but he didn't say anything. Then he looked foreward and kept walking with the Careers.

When they were out of earshot, I turned to Lotus. "Peeta was with them."

"I saw" she said.

"It's just... so unlike him."

She shrugged. "The arena can change people."

I thought about it. I guess when you're fighting for your life it brings out the side of you that no one knew you had.

But, Peeta was better than that. There had to be some sort of plan he had...

Then I remembered what Madge said. _"I have no doubt that he would do anything to save you. Heck, he's probably already coming up with a plan." _

So, Peeta _did _have a plan.

He was driving the Careers away from me.

I mean, of course they would want to go after me. I got the highest score in training, even higher than theirs. They'd want to get rid of me as soon as possible.

* * *

The next morning, Lotus and I got out of the tree and started heading farther away from the Cornucopia. We didn't want to take any chances of encountering unwanted people. All I could think about was Peeta.

I hope he's alright.

I saw a squirrel scurry past me. I took out my bow and arrow and shot it through the eye.

"Whoa. Where'd you learn to do that?" asked Lotus.

"Peeta taught me." I picked up the squirrel and took out the arrow.

"That's pretty impressive. I can't fight."

"Well, what can you do?"

"Sneak around."

"That's helpful." I took a knife out of my bag and started skinning the squirrel. Then we built a fire and roasted it. It was only a little, but it was enough for then.

When night came, we were grateful that we didn't have any trouble during the day. But that meant that we had to keep our eyes peeled for the night.

We found a good tree, climbed it, slipped into the sleeping bag, and tied ourselves to the tree. When the anthum came on, we saw that no one had died today. We said goodnight and went to sleep.

I woke up to a crackling sound.

I opened my eyes and saw smoke. I sat up and noticed that the trees were on fire. My chest tightened.

"Lotus. Get up. We need to get out of here." I tried so hard not to panic. I shook her shoulder. She opened her eyes and sat up. When she saw the trees, she gasped.

We untied our rope, got out of the sleeping bag and climbed quickly down the tree. We started sprinting away. We were doing fine until the fireballs started coming.

Lotus jumped out of the way just as a fireball landed next to me. The force blew me off my feet and I hit my head on a tree. I fell to the ground, right next to a small cave. Just then, a fireball landed right infront of me. a flame landed on my leg and I cried out in pain. Lotus found her way over to me and held out her hand. "We need to keep moving!" I took her hand and we ran, despite the pain in my leg.

We ran for what felt like forever. At one point, Lotus's hand got engulfed in flames, causing her to scream. But we kept moving. We didn't stop until we got to the lake. We ran strait through the lake and sighed in relief as the cold water hit our hot bodies.

Then we heard the voices.

Of course the Gamemakers would want to leave us here; all the Capitol wanted was some action.

The Careers walked up the rocks laughing at something. Peeta was lagging behind.

Then the boy from District One pointed to us. "Look! There she is!" All of the Careers and Peeta looked at us. The Careers smiled and started running towards us. Lotus and I looked at eachother and we started running into the trees.

We heard the laughs and shouts of the Careers as we ran through the trees, trying desparately to make some distnace between the Careers and us with no such luck. If anything, they were catching up to us.

"Up there!" shout Lotus. She pointed to the top of a pine tree. I went first. It was hard for me to climb up with my burned leg, but I was able to make it up high enough. Lotus on the other hand, couldn't even hold onto the bark with her burned hand without screaming in pain. When she was about halfway up, the Careers and Peeta had made it over to the tree.

"Hurry!" I said. She tried to climb higher.

"This is as far as I can go!" she yelled worridly. I tried to bend down and grab her hand, but she was too far.

The girl from One, Glimmer (as the Careers called her), pulled an arrow out of her sheath and took out her bow. The Careers were cheering her on. Peeta was standing back, looking worried. Then he dissappeared behind a tree. What was he doing?

"Shoot the red head!" shouted Clove, licking her lips. Glimmer smirked and shot an arrow at Lotus, missing her by a long shot. Instead, I caught the arrow in mid air and waved it playfully.

"You're gonna have to do better than that blondie" I said with a smile. Glimmer shrieked and stomped her foot.

"You're gonna pay for that twelve!" This time she tried to shoot the arrow at me, but I caught it again. I put the arrows in my sheath.

"Give me that!" shouted Cato, taking the bow and arrows from Glimmer. He aimed at me and shot, missing my head by a centimeter. It stuck into the tree and I pulled it out.

"Wow, and I thought you were Careers!" I shouted.

Cato looked unbelievably angry. He threw the bow and arrows on the ground and started climbing up the tree. Cato was about to fall, but he grabbed Lotus's ankle and pulled her down with him.

"NO!" I shouted. The Careers all gathered around Lotus who had huddled against the base of the tree. They all had evil grins on their faces.

"Would you like to do the honors, Marvel?" That must have been the boy from District One's name. I started climbing down in an attempt to save Lotus. Then I heard a bow get fired and a scream. I looked down-

To see Peeta standing, with his bow, over Marvel's dead body.

**Tell me what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry for being do cruel and ending the chapter right there, but I needed to wrap it up somehow and that was the only way I could with out it being all awkward and stuff so... yeah :P**

The cannon fired.

Cato looked at Peeta with such an amount of hatred, I'm surprised he didn't turn to ashes. At first I just wanted to climb back up the tree and hide, but then I realized that this was it. This was my chance to escape.

"What the hell!?" shouted Cato. But Peeta didn't answer. Instead he lifted his bow and prepared to shoot again when Cato slashed his leg with a sword. Peeta cried out in pain and fell, letting go of his bow. Cato placed the tip of his sword on Peeta's chest. "Sweet dreams, Lover Boy..."

"STOP!" I screamed. They all looked up at me.

Clove laughed. "Awe... does Lover Boy's crush actually like him back?" I took out my bow and arrow and aimed it at Clove's heart. I was about to shoot, but...

No. I couldn't kill someone, no matter how horrible.

I eased my bow a little to the right and shot her in the shoulder. She screamed out in pain. Cato forgot all about Peeta and went over to help Clove.

This was my chance.

Lotus and Peeta thought of this as an opportunity too, because they both got up and ran to the base of the tree.

Then I heard a whisper.

"Up here."

I looked around, not knowing who was speaking. "Up here." I turned my head and saw the person I least expected to see.

Rue.

Gosh, I had forgotten all about her. She didn't look injured or hungery, infact you might of thought she was just going for a walk if it weren't the Hunger Games.

"Climb down" she whispered. I looked down and saw that by now the Careers still hadn't noticed that the people they were going to kill were missing. Idiots.

I slowly climbed down and I looked at Rue. She reminded me so much of Prim...

No.

Focus.

I looked over and a few meters away, Lotus was running towards me. "Come on" Lotus said, grabbing my hand with her good one.

"No, Peeta's still over there." Peeta was limping towards me when Cato pounced on top of him.

"NO!" I tried to get out of Lotus's grip but she was too strong. "Let me GO!"

"No, we have to get out of here." I eventually pulled out of her grasp and ran over to Peeta.

"KATNISS!" Lotus and Rue called. But I kept running. I had to get to Peeta. I was almost there when-

I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a completely different part of the forest. It was a small, concealed clearing off to the side. I sat up and noticed that my burn was nothing but a scab.

What happened?

How did I get here?

"Oh, you're awake." I turned to see Rue sitting on a log. She had a scar that ran across her forehead, but besides that she was okay.

"How did I get here?"

She sighed. "Well, since we were making a lot of noise, Thresh came out and accidentally banged heads with you. Then he killed Glimmer and Clove started throwing knives at everyone, hitting me in the forhead," she pointed to the scar on her forhead,"and Lotus in the chest" she finished quietly.

I looked down. Lotus. Dead. Even though I didn't know her too well, we became almost like sisters. I told her all about Peeta and everything. And if I had just ran away with her, maybe she could have stayed alive. At least her death wasn't too painful...

I looked up abrubtly. "What about Peeta?" I asked frantically. Please please please don't be dead...

"Yeah, he's alive" she said. I sighed in relief. "But that doesn't mean he's well."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No. I dragged you over here and left him on the ground. But when I went back, but he was gone."

"G-Gone?"

"Yeah. Like he just... dissappeared."

I felt my chest tighten. "But he has to be _somewhere_."

"I know. But," she stood up. "We can look for him later."

I stood up too. "So, where are the Careers?"

Just then, there was an announcement. "Attention tributes. There will be a feast down at the Cornucopia. All of you need something."

Rue and I looked at eachother. "I don't need anything."

"Well if you don't, then maybe Peeta does." Great. Now I'm even more worried about him.

"Let's go" I said, grabbing my bow and arrows.

We walked through the trees until we saw the shimmering Cornucopia. We kept hidden behind the trees and saw that there was a table with three bags on it and a number on each bag. Two, Eleven, and Twelve.

"Okay" I whispered. "On the count of three, we are going to run up to the table, grab the Disrict Twelve bag, and run back to our camp. Okay?"

"Alright" Rue said worridly.

I bent down. "Hey. everything will be fine." She gave me a small smile and we faced the Cornucopia again.

"One. Two. Three!" We sprinted out from behind the trees and got over top the table. I grabbed the District Twelve bag and looked around to see if anyone was following us, but saw no one. "Let's go!"

We started running towards the trees when all of a sudden Rue screamed. Then I saw Clove running towards us with knives in her hands. "Rue, run away!" I screamed. But the knife was already in the air-

As it planted itself in Rue's stomach.

**I know this chapter is short, but I'm busy working on another story. I promise to update soon**

**Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

"NO!" I screamed as Clove pushed me to the ground. She sat ontop of me and took out her knife.

"Don't worry" she said. "I'll make sure to make this slow and painful." I tried to scream for Peeta (maybe he was around), but no sound came out. She started tracing my lips with the tip of her blade. I closed my eyes and waited for her to cut me, but instead someone yanked her off me. I opened my eyes to see Thresh holding her against the Cornucopia.

"You kill her!?" he yelled, pointing to Rue's body.

"N-No!" said Clove.

"Don't lie! I saw you!"

"Cato!" she yelled desparatly."Cato!" He threw her head against the Cornucopia, killing her instantly. I crawled over to Rue and saw that she was still breathing.

"K-Katniss?" she asked.

"Y-Yes?"

"You have to win."

I swallowed. "Of course."

"Please try."

"I will."

"And... find Peeta."

I smiled a little. "Okay."

A tear fell down her face. "Can you sing?"

I looked down at her face and thought that a face so innocent couldn't be so upset. I felt tears sliding down my face as I sang.

_"Deep in the meadow, under the willow,_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow._

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes._

_And when you wake, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm._

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm._

_Here is the place where dreams come true._

_Here is the place where I love you."_

She wasn't breathing.

By the end, I was crying hard. It just wasn't fair! She was too young! I kept crying until I noticed that someone was behind me. I looked up to see Thresh looking down at me with no expression on his face.

"Just this time Twelve" he said. "For Rue." Then he ran off.

That day was one of the worst days of my life.

I buried poor Rue in a bunch of white flowers and cried over her body until it turned dark. As much as I didn't want to, I got up and walked over to the woods. There was only one thing motivating me to move on.

Peeta.

_I have to find Peeta._

I tried looking for some sort of clue that could show me where he was. But when the sun started setting, i was running out of hope. I sat down on a rock and looked around. Then something caught my eye.

On the rock was a spot of blood.

I stood up and found another spot a few yards away. And another. And another. And it became some sort of twisted goose chase.

I found the next spot of blood, but I didn't see anymore. It couldn't just end right?

"Well don't step on me."

I looked down and gasped. Peet had camoflauged himself to look like the moss and rocks.

"Peeta!" I bent down and helped him sit up. I pulled him into a long hug and kissed his moss covered forehead.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked.

"No" I said. "You most definately aren't."

I looked down at his sleeping figure in the moonlight.

I led him to a cave soon after I found him and started to clean him off. After I had scrubbed most of the crap off his body, I got to take a good look. He had a bunch of scratches, his hair was matted with dirt and sweat, and the cut on his leg was pussing and infected with blood poisening.

In other words, he looked like hell.

He told me that he was fine, but from the looks of it, not at all. He just didn't want me to worry about him. But that just made me more worried.

"We need to get you medicine" I said. Then I remembered I left the District Twelve bag at the Cornucopia. Maybe it was in there. "The bag for us. You medicine may be in there. It's back at the Cornucopia."

"No" he said deparately. "I'm not going to let you out of my sight again."

"But you need it!"

"No I don't."

"Open your eyes Peeta! You're dying!"

"I know" he whispered. "Just leave me be."

I understood what he meant. He wanted to die.

"I can't let you die" I said.

"I can't let you die either."

"Who says I'm gonna die?"

"You may not die, but you can get hurt. And then Cato or Thresh can come by and kill you later on."

"I'll kill them before that happens" I said getting aggitated. "Peeta, just let me go."

"Please" he pled, getting tears in his eyes. "I need you Katniss."

I looked at his face, and suddenly we were eleven again, him pleading me to be his friend. But this time he was really scared and the situation was much more serious.

"Okay" I said, my voice shaky. "I'll stay."

_Yeah, right._

I made sure that he was asleep, grabbed my bow and arrows, kissed his forehead, and went out to search for the bag.

When I reached the Cornucopia, I looked around for the bag. Since it was night, I could barely see. But eventually, I found it. I eagerly unzipped it and surely enough, there was a can of medicine.

I thanked God and put the can back in the bag. I started walking back to the cave.

Then a knife was thrown into my back.

I collapsed on the ground.

_Well, this is it._

_I'm gonna die._

_At least I died trying to save Peeta._

"Well well well. Who do we have here?" I knew that voice anywhere.

Cato.

"Sweet dreams."

Then a cannon went off.

**Review! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**There is going to be one more chapter after this, then it's going to get into Catching Fire!**

It wasn't for me.

The cannon wasn't for me.

And it wasn't for Cato.

So it was either Thresh or Peeta.

Strong Thresh or weak Peeta.

Alive Thresh or dying Peeta.

NO!

Apparently, Cato thought it was for me and smiled. He got up and walked away.

When I knew he was out of sight, I got up and tried standing, but I fell right back down again. I tried to reach for the knife that was in my back, but I couldn't get it.

It hurt like hell.

But I had to get up.

I had to avenge Peeta's death.

I eventually was able to stand on my two feet. I walked through the forest, clutching the medicine, and finding my way over to the cave. I prepared myself to look inside, and I looked through the opening.

Peeta was sitting up, looking frantically out the cave.

He was alive!

"Katniss!" he said. I sighed of relief. I winced when I bended my back.

"What happened? I told you not to leave!"

"I'm sorry, I had to save you." I walked into the cave and kneeled next to him. I took a big glop of cream and smeared it all over his cut.

"That feels so good" he said in relief.

I tried to stand, but my back felt like it was engulfed in flames.

"What's wrong?" he asked noticing my struggle. With out a word, i slowly tunred around to reveal the knife in my back.

"Oh my God" he said.

"I-I know."

He gulped. "Well, it's not in your heart, so you'll be alright, for now. Let me take it out." I reluctantly faced the stone wall and Peeta griped the handle. "This is gonna hurt..."

He pulled it out and covered his hands over my mouth so I didn't scream.

"Shit!" I yelled into his hands.

"I'm sorry" he said. I looked at the blade and saw it was covered with blood. I shuddered and Peeta took off his jacket and made a makeshift bandage for my cut. He smoothered my back with medicine and wrapped it up.

"Thank you" I said quietly. I turned around and looked into his blue eyes which were already looking brighter.

Then I heard a branch snap.

I suddenly realized something. "Peeta, if you were here and Cato was with me, who killed Thresh?"

His eyes went wide. "I-I don't..."

Then we heard the howling.

We walked out of the opening in the cave and saw these gigantic wolf muttations. Only one word came to my mind.

Run.

I grabbed Peeta's hand and we ran through the trees. We weren't all that fast because of our injuries and the wolves were getting closer to us by the second. I didn't know where we were going until I saw the metal Cornucopia.

"Up there!" I shouted, pointing to the top of the Cornucopia. When we go there, I pulled myself to the top and helped Peeta get on. We looked down and saw the muttations trying to jump up and get us, but we were too high.

Then I was pushed off the edge.

"KATNISS!" yelled Peeta. I hit the ground and the mutts started scratching and biting at me. I tried to get up, but I was pushed to the ground again.

Well, this is it.

I'm gonna die.

I looked up at the Cornucopia and saw Peeta and Cato fighting. I knew it wasn't Peeta who pushed me off.

I was only down there for seconds, but it felt like years. One of the mutts took a particularly painful bite on my leg and I screamed in pain. My vision was getting blurry and I started seeing black spots. I could already feel the life slipping out of me...

Then I heard a scream.

And a thud.

I looked over and saw a flash of blond hair. I panicked and thought it was Peeta, when I heard his voice from on top of the Cornucopia.

"Katniss! Grab onto my hand! I'll pull you up!"

I lifted a shaky blood-covered hand up to peeta's and he grasped it. The mutts kept scratching and biting me, but at this point, I couldn't tell where. My whole body was in agony.

He pulled me to the top and I laid down. He took off my torn jacket and placed it to the side. I started shivering. He wiped off as much of the blood as he could, but the bite on my leg was making me lose a lot of blood. He took one of the make-shift bandages he made before and made a torniquet around my thigh. It still bled, but not as much.

"P-Peeta" I said.

"Yes?"

"S-Stop tr-trying to sa-ave me. You-You're gonna make it o-out of h-here. Alive."

"No. You're going to make out of here alive."

"Peeta, I-I've already ble-ed half t-to death."

"You're going to make it out of here. I promise."

I closed my eyes as Peeta worked on me. I wanted to argue with him, but I was too tired and cold. I just listened as Cato's crys died down.

Then we heard the cannon fire.

We did it.

We did it.

We did it.

I opened my eyes and saw the sun starting to rise over the trees. All of the mutts left Cato and dissappered into the trees.

Peet picked me up and brought me down to the ground. He laud me down on the grass and put my jacket back on me.

"Peeta" I said. "Tell Prim and mother that I love them."

He shook his head. "You are going to tell them yourself."

I sighed and looked over at the tree when something caught my eyes. It was one of the bushes that were off tto the side.

Nightlock berries.

Bingo.

I pointed to them. "Grab some of those." He looked confused, but he went over, picked some, and brought them back.

"What are they?" He asked.

"Nightlock" I said. His eyes widened.

"Ka-"

"Let's eat them."

"What?"

"We can't choose who is going to win, so why don't we both lose?"

He looked at me in absolute horror, but then he slowly nodded. "Okay."

I took some of the berries from his hand. "On the count of three?" I asked.

He nodded. "But first," He bent down and kissed me.

A long, slow kiss.

The last kiss I would ever have.

I started getting tears in my eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I took in a deep breath. "One."

He stroked my braid. "Two."

We looked at eachother one last time. "Three."

I put the berries in my mouth.

Then we heard the speakers go on. "Stop! STOP! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present, the victors of this year's 74th annual Hunger Games!"

Peeta and I spit the berries out. I ran my hands over my tongue and smiled.

We were going home.

We were going home.

We were going home.

Peeta helped me to my feet, but I fell against him. The hovercraft lowered a ladder for us to climb.

Great.

I tried to climb, but each step I took on my bad leg caused me wince. I was about to black out from the pain when I got to the hovercraft. An array of doctors swarmed me. Then one of them stuck a needle in my arm and I blacked out.

**Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up in a hospital.

I was wearing a thin white gown that went up to my knees and had a bunch of tubes in my arms. All of my scars were gone, even the ones that I had before I went in the arena. I looked down at my leg and saw that it didn't look right. I touched it and found metal.

I had a fake leg.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Just then the doctors came in. They ran a bunch of tests and asked a bunch of questions. I helped them out the best I could and they left.

I laid down and closed my eyes when the door opened again. I looked up to see Haymitch, surprisingly not drunk.

"Feelin' good sweetheart?"

"Like shit."

"Good for you." He walked over to one of the leather chairs and sat down. "That was quite a show. I can't believe you did all of that."

I suddenly remembered. "You didn't send me anything in the arena" I said angrily.

He looked slightly guilty. "I chose Peeta instead."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "You weren't looking to good. It's a miracle you're still here." He pointed at my leg.

We stayed silent for a minute. Then he spoke up. "He's really worried about you."

"Peeta?"

"Yeah, He wouldn't stop asking me how you were doing, but I hadn't visited you yet."

"Is he alright?"

Haymitch laughed. "Yeah, he'll be alright."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I heard him get up and walk out the door.

* * *

"KATNISS!" screamed my Prep Team. I covered my ears.

"You were AMAZING!" squealed Octavia.

"Thanks" I said in mock excitement. They all smiled.

While they were fixing me up, they talked about how I was 'absolutely amazing' in the arena and put on the best 'show' they had ever seen.

When they were finally finished, I saw someone I thought I would never see again.

"Cinna."

He smiled and pulled me in a hug. We stayed like that for a few minutes, then we broke apart.

"I'm so proud of you" he said. "I knew you could do it."

"It was a nightmare" I muttered. He gave me a sympathetic smile.

Cinna put me in a bright yellow sundress that went up to my knees. He braided my hair to the side and gave me matching sandals. He did a light amount of makeup, then led me over to the back of the stage. There, I saw Haymitch and Effie.

"OH MY GOD!" said Effie. "That was GREAT!"

"Yeah" I muttered. Haymitch jabbed me with his elbow.

"Where's Peeta?" I asked. He wasn't there.

"We didn't want you two to see eachother before the interview. We wanted to make your entrance more dramatic" said Haymitch. I groaned.

"But I wanna see him now!" I said like a five year-old. Just then the music went on which told us that the interview was beginning.

"Ladies and gentlemen" said Ceaser. "May I present this years victors, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!" The crowd burst into cheers and I walked on stage. I looked across the stage and saw Peeta walking on. He was wearing a blue suit that matched his eyes and a black shirt. He couldn't have looked better.

When he saw me, he smiled and I ran into his arms. The people cheered louder.

"I'm so glad you're okay" he said.

"Me too" I said. We kissed and walked over to the chairs.

"So Peeta. Katniss" started Ceaser.

The interview went on about our love for eachother. Peeta did all of the talking. Then he asked about the berries.

"What were you two thinking when you pulled out those berries?"

"I couldn't imagine life without him" I said. "And I don't think I ever can." A bunch of 'awes' came from the crowd.

After that, we watched the highlights of the Hunger Games. A lot of the things I had already known about or witnessed. Peeta's eyes widened when he saw Lotus and I got attacked by a bunch of fireballs. I hid my head in Peeta's shoulder when we got to the part where I sang to Rue. And then there was the part when Cato through a knife into my back and Peeta tensed up. Then I saw myself get attacked by the wolves and watched as Peeta and I almost comitted suicide.

Some life.

* * *

Peeta and I were on the train, heading home.

We were in trouble.

That's what Haymitch told us. The Districts thought our 'little stunt' was an act of defiance, not an act of love. But it was an act of love. It really was.

And we have to prove it. Or our loved ones die.

"What do we do now?" Peeta asked me.

"I dont really know" I said. "I guess we try to forget."

I leaned my head on his shoulder and he pulled me closer. "I don't want to forget."

When we got to District Twelve, everyone was cheering and clapping. In the crowd, I saw Prim and my mother hugging and Grain and Rye had their fists pumped in the air.

And I thought maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't be too bad.

You have no idea how wrong I was.

**The End... NOT!**

**Next chapter begins in Catching Fire. REVIEW!**


	12. Victors

_They were eating me. They tore apart my flesh as Peeta watched from the top of the Cornucopia. I was screaming, pleading him to help me, but he just watched without any expression on his face. Then one of the mutts snapped its jaws around my neck..._

I woke up screaming. Peeta wrapped his arms around me as I shook.

"Shh, it's okay" he said. "You aren't going back in there."

Ever since Peeta and I had made it back to District Twelve, we had lived in the Victor's Village. I lived with my mother and Prim, but Peeta would sleep with me to help me through the nightmares. His family lived in one of the houses next to me and Haymitch lived in the other.

And even though we were victors, lovers, messed up, and completely changed people, Peeta and I still managed to stay friends.

It's a bit of a miracle if you asked me.

I got out of my bed, got dressed in my father's hunting jacket and boots, and went outside with Peeta.

It was early December and the first snow had just fallen. A bunch of people would wave or say hi to me as I walked by. I would usually manage a smile, but it was hard.

We crunched through the snow, over to the fence. I crawled under (with much more difficulty, thanks to my leg) and walked over to the tree where my bow and arrow were. I took them out and put the arrow in the bowstring. Even though it was winter, there still managed to be a few animals crawling around.

I took his hand in mine and we walked through the trees. We found a patch of clean snow and I laid my head in his lap.

He started fiddling with a loose strand of my hair. "The Vicory Tour is today" he said.

"Mm-hm" I said. The Victory Tour is where the victor (or in this case, victors) goes around to every District and gives a speech about the District's dead tributes. And I definately was not looking forward to see the faces of the families who tributes have died.

No, not died. Been killed.

When we had full game bags, we both walked home together.

"Wanna come inside? Mom can make tea" I said. My mother and I's realtionship had gotten considerably better when I came back from the Hunger Games.

He shrugged. "Okay."

We walked up the front steps and dropped our bags by the door. We walked inside and my mother started walking towards us.

"How was your walk?" she asked with a smile.

"What do you-" Then I saw the Peacekeepers. This can't be good.

"This way Miss Everdeen, Mr. Mellark" one of them said. I nodded and followed them into the conference room. There, at the desk, sat President Snow. I felt Peeta tense up behind me.

"Please. Take a seat" he said, pointing to the many chairs. Peeta sat down in one and I sat next to him. "Now, I believe this will be much easier if we all agree not to lie to eachother."

"Okay" said Peeta.

"Sure" I said.

"Good. Now, I wanted to talk to you about this." He clicked a button on the television remote and the screen lit up, showing Peeta and I preparing to eat the berries. I gulped.

"This little 'stunt' you two pulled has caused uprisings in the Districts."

Uprisings? "We didn't mean to" I said.

"I know. But do they know? No. Instead, they think of it as an act of rebellion."

"Why don't you just kill us?" I asked. Peeta looked at me, but I ignored him. The president laughed.

"Do you really think they would believe that you two would die of an accident? No. Of course not. But, if you don't do as I instruct, there is always your friends and family." I felt my chest tighten.

"Well what do you want us to do?" asked Peeta.

"On the tour, I need you two to be madly in love. Like you don't care about anything or anyone else." He paused. "I need you to convince not only them, but me." He leaned forward. "Convince me." Then he stood up and walked out, along with the Peacekeepers. When he left, Peeta and I looked at eachother.

"Well," he said after a minute, standing. "let's convince them."

I stood up with him and we walked out of the room.

Convince him? At least Peeta and I really were in love. We didn't have to act as much.

We walked into the kitchen and I saw Prim and Mother sitting at the table, drinking tea. Prim smiled when she saw us. "What did he want?" she asked.

Ever since I came home, I had noticed that Prim was getting older. She wasn't the same girl that I had let go of at the Reaping. She was growing up.

And I hated it.

"Uh, nothing" I said. "Just... wanted to talk about the tour." She nodded.

Around an hour later, Peeta had to go home and meet his Prep Team. I was sitting on the couch when my Prep Team burst through the doors.

"KATNISS!" they screamed. I forced a smile.

"Hello" I said. Each one of them came over to hug me. Then Cinna walked in.

I went over and hugged him. He smiled.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be" I muttered. He laughed a little.

* * *

The Victory starts in District Eleven.

Rue and Thresh's District.

Great.

After our Prep Teams had dressed us up, we got on the train and now we are about to give our speeches.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the victors of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!" The crowd cheered half-heartedly as we walked onto the stage. There were two platforms in the crowd. One held an old woman and a young woman, and the other held a mother and six other small children. They all looked like Rue...

"Thank you" Peeta said. He looked down at his cards. He gave this whole speech about how the tributes were hopefully resting in peace and how they will always be remembered blah blah blah. I just wanted to get it over with.

But then Peeta put his note cards down. This was when I really paid attention.

"We would like to donate District Eleven half of our winnings each year for as long as we live."

I looked at him, but he ignored me. The people in the crowd started murmuring.

"Thank you" Peeta said.

I felt like I had to say something about Thresh and Rue. Not only for me, but for District Eleven.

The Peacekeepers started leading us away. "Wait" I said. "Please." They let me walk to the microphone.

"Thresh and Rue, without either of them, I wouldn't be standing here today" I started. Everyone went silent. I turned to Thresh's family. "I only spoke to Thresh once. And just long enough for him to spare my life. He could have killed me, but he didn't. Many people may see him as a horrifying, but he's only what all of us are. Human." I turned to Rue's family. "But, I did know Rue. She was one of the sweetest, kindest, most innocent girls I have ever met. And I wish she could have lived. I wish I could spend the rest of my life crying over her, but I can't." I felt tears brim my eyes. "And I'm so sorry."

Just then, I saw an old man in the crowd kiss three of his fingers and lift them in the air. The rest of them soon followed and eventually everone had their hands in the air. I wanted to cry so bad.

Then the Peacekeepers drew their swords and walked into the crowd, towards the old man. I started to follow them.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I asked. They just ignored me. Then I felt to hands grip my arms and start to pull me back. "No! Stop!" I tried to fight against them, but they had to good a hold. I watched in horror as the man was kicked onto the stage. I was pulled into the Justice Building and just before the doors closed, I watched the bullet plummet into the old man's head.


	13. A Piece of Their Games

I screamed.

Haymitch pulled me and Peeta by the arms into a private room and shut the door. I looked at Peeta's expression and saw that his eyes were wide with fear. I started crying.

"What the hell was that!?" yelled Haymitch.

"I-I just... they deserved-"

"It's not about what they deserve! It's about what they get!"

"We didn't mean for anyone to get killed" Peeta said surprisingly calm.

"I know you didn't" he said more calm. "But you can't show them that things aren't alright. You need to distract them from what the real problems are." He smiled a little. "Alright?"

We nodded.

"Good" he said. "Do this for the rest of the tour."

After that, we went back on the train and headed off to District Ten. We wouldn't be there until morning, so we had time.

As soon as we boarded the train, I went into my room and shut the door. I took off my fancy clothes off, changed into pajamas, and cried.

That seemed to be all I did in my free time.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"Just go away" I said.

"Katniss, open up." It was Peeta.

"I really don't feel like talking right now."

"Please let me in."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

He sighed. "Fine. Then I guess I'll just have to sit out here until you do." I heard him shuffle as he sat down.

Annoyed, I got out of bed and slowly walked to the door. I opened it and Peeta fell on his head.

"Ow!"

"What do you want Peeta?" I asked, not wanting anything to do with him.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright." I scowled. "And apparently, not."

He sat up and rubbed his head. "Sorry about that" I said.

"Don't be." He stood up and started walking away. I realized I didn't want him to leave.

"Peeta, wait." He turned around.

"Can you, uh, stay with me?"

He smiled a little. "Sure."

For the rest of the day, I just laid down in his lap and talked about what was on my mind and he just listened. It was the most time we had spent alone in ages.

* * *

The rest of the Victory Tour was horrible. The Districts were going crazy, telling us that we didn't really believe what we said and that we weren't really in love.

We knew then that we had to kick it up a notch.

"The next stop is the Capitol. This is where you have to show people that you are really in love" said Haymitch

"We're already doing all that we can" said Peeta. We really were.

"Is there anything else?" Haymitch asked.

I thought about it. I mean, there really wasn't much we could do...

Unless...

"We could get married" I said before I knew what I was doing.

Haymitch leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his liquor. "I like it."

Peeta abrubtly got up and started walking to his room. I followed him.

"Wait, what's wrong?" I asked. He turned around and I saw was upset.

"Katniss, they've already taken our public lives away. But if we get married, than they would've taken over our whole lives. It won't end."

He was talking about the Capitol. "Then what do you want us to do?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanna show them that they don't own me. That I'm not just a piece in their games."

I went up to him and gave him a hug. "We'll work through this" I said. "Together."

When we got to the Capitol, we were surrounded by a bunch of screaming people. I clutched Peeta's hand tighter. We kissed for the crowd and I swear people started fainting.

Wow.

"Oh! Isn't this just marvelous!" squeeled Effie. Peeta and I forced a smile.

We were led to the stage in front of the Capitol Building. The whole area was filled with screaming Capitol people.

"Ladies and gentlemen" said President Snow. "The victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!"

The crowd burst into cheers as we made our way up the stage. This was it. No turning back.

"Thank you" Peeta said, reading his cards. Again, I just sort of blanked out when he was talking until he got to the part about me. "And we are so thankful that these games have brought us closer together." He turned to me. "Katniss, I am absolutely positive that I love you more than anything, even myself." He bent down on one knee and pulled out a diamond ring. We heard gasps of excitement come from the crowd. "Katniss, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

I got tears in my eyes. I wasn't sure if it was just the overwhelming situation, or the fact that by saying yes I would have just given all I had left of my life to the Capitol. "Yes!" I said. He stood up and I pulled him into a long kiss. The crowd went hysterical with cheers.

That night, there was a party in the Capitol Building. We were led in by Effie.

"Now remember, be nice. That means you, Katniss." I scowled and Peeta laughed.

She opened the doors to the building and we were immedeatly surrounded by a bunch of people dressed in crazy outfits.

"Oh, Katniss, can I see your ring!?" one of them asked. I held out my hand and showed them the diamond ring. They all screamed.

"Now, come on" said Effie. "There's more to see."

She led us through the crowds and into the ball room. We were visited by more people.

For the next couple of hours, we mingled with who Effie said were the 'more important' people. Peeta and I had no fun whatsoever, but we just gritted our teeth and went along with it. Then Effie pulled me by the arm.

"I want you to meet someone" she said. I sighed. She led me over to a man. "Katniss, this is Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Head Gamemaker!"

I could only wonder what happened to the last one.

"Hello" he said.

"Hello" I said.

We talked for a while, and I have to say, he wasn't the absolute worst person in the world and maybe I could have liked him if he weren't Head Gamemaker.

Finally, the party ended and we went back to the train. I immedeatly got ou of my fancy clothes and into my pajamas. I crawled into bed and a while later, Peeta came in. He crawled in next to me.

"Goodnight" he said. I snuggled closer to him.

"Night" I murmured.

The next morning, at breakfast, we were all silent because we were all tired after our huge day yesterday. Effie was the first to speak.

"I have this amazing idea" she said. Great. "Well, Katniss has her pin, I have my hair, and maybe we can get a braclet or something for the boys and be a team!"

"Uh, okay?" Peeta said.

"Great!" she said.

Haymitch groaned. "I am not wearing jewlery."

Effie frowned. "But we are a team!"

"I couldn't care less."

I sighed. "Haymitch, suck it up and say yes. We are all tired" I snapped.

"Fine" he muttered, plunging his fork into his stew.

We were heading to the final stop of the Victory Tour, District Twelve. Finally.

We were waiting for the doors of the train to open. Peeta took my hand and kissed me on the forehead. "We're home" he said.

"Finally" I muttered.

* * *

"Katniss!" Prim said. The tour was over and we were headed home. Peeta went home to see his family. Prim ran up and hugged me. I hugged her back.

"I missed you" I said.

"I missed you too" she said. She let go of me and took my hand. She touched the diamond on my ring. "I can't believe Peeta's gonna be my brother." I smiled at the thought. They practically were brother and sister already.

"Me neither" I said. My mother walked out the door and came over to me. I hugged her.

"It's good to have you back" she said.

"It's good to be back." She pulled away and looked me in the eye.

"I'm sorry" she said. I knew that she was talking about how I had to go through all of this.

"It's alright" I said. "I'll pull through somehow."

**Review! :)**


	14. Rye and Grain

It's been a week since we've come back from the Victory Tour.

Things have been pretty normal for Peeta and I. I mean, of course there is always that one person who comes over to us and tells us congratulations for getting engaged, but we got used to the extra attention.

Peeta and I were walking through the Hob one day. Peeta was giving squirrels to some people and I was sitting at Ripper's booth eating some soup. It was nothing knew.

Then the Peacekeepers came.

And I'm not just talking five or six, I'm talking truck loads. Tens and tens and tens of them squarmed the Hob and knocked over tables, burned valuables, and started hurting the people.

"We have to get out of here" I said, grabbing Peeta's hand. We started running towards the door when he stopped short. "What?" I asked.

"Katniss, go home" he said. He let go of my hand and started towards a Peacekeeper who was kicking and beating up Greasy Sae.

Peeta jumped on top of the Peacekeeper and started punching him in the face.

I ran over to Greasy Sae and saw that she was seriously injured. "Here" I said as calmly as I could. I helped her to her feet and led her out the door.

I sat her on the curb and some of the people came over to help her. I ran back inside and noticed that Peeta and the Peacekeeper were gone.

Shit.

I ran out the door and looked around, but didn't see him. I started to panic. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I spun around and saw that it was Ripper. She had a cut on the side of her face, but besides that she looked okay. "Peeta's in the square. You're gonna want to see him."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"There's a new Head Peacekeeper. New Head, new rules."

"Thanks" I said. I started running towards the square. There was a large crowd surrounding the outskirts. As I went through the crowd, people saw me and started whispering.

This can't be good.

I started pushing through the crowd faster. When I got out and saw Peeta, I screamed.

Peeta was on the whipping post.

"STOP!" I screamed. But the Head Peacekeeper ignored me and kept whipping him. Peeta cried out in pain.

Before he could whip him again, I ran between Peeta and the Head Peacekeeper. He got angry.

"Move girl" he growled.

"No" I said as confidently as I could.

Then he whipped me in the face.

My head lashed to the side and I cried out in pain. I held my cheek in my hand and looked at him in disbelief.

"Move!" he said. But I planted my feet.

"You'll need more than just a whip to get me to move" I said.

He pulled out a gun and aimed it at my heart.

My head was screaming for me to leave, but I stood my ground. "Go ahead" I said. He prepared to shoot when I heard a familiar voice cry out.

"Don't do it Thread" said Haymitch. I sighed in relief and bent down next to Peeta.

"Peeta" I whispered. He had his eyes clenched shut and was murmuring something to himself. I looked at his back and noticed that he must have gotten at least fifty lashes. I got angry and stood up.

"You already hurt the boy enough, and he is a victor. You don't need to mess up another" Haymitch said angrily.

"But he was beating up a Peacekeeper. That's a crime" said Thread.

"I don't care! Just let the boy go! Or do I have to talk to the president?" spat Haymitch.

Thread gave him such a horrible glare, I'm surprised Haymitch was unfazed. He walked over to Peeta and took his hands out of the cuffs. Peeta fell to the ground and yelled in pain.

"GO HOME!" He yelled at the bystanders. They all scurried away. He wiped all the blood off his whip and pointed a finger at me. "Next time you do something like that, I'll shoot you for real." Then he walked away.

"Haymitch, go get help" I said. He ran away.

I stroked Peeta's blond curls. "It'll be okay" I said. "No one can hurt you now."

A few minutes later, Haymitch came with a bunch of people from the Hob who were carrying a large sheet for Peeta. A few of them came over and lifted Peeta onto it and we hurried over to my house.

I burst through the door and Mother and Prim looked up in alarm. "Peeta got whipped" I said. Prim's eyes went wide as the people brought him in.

Mother cleared off the counter. "Set him here" she said.

Prim and mother started working on him immedeatly. As much as I didn't want to leave him, I walked out the door and ran into the bakery.

Grain looked up from the register and smiled at me, but stopped. "What happened to your face?" he asked.

I breathed heavily. "P-Peeta got whipped..." His eyes went wide and he ran into the back. "Rye, Peeta got whipped" he said. Grain and Rye came out of the kitchen.

"Where is he?" asked Rye.

"My house" I said. "My mom and Prim are working on him."

The three of us ran to my house. I opened the door and saw that Peeta was asleep and getting bandgaes put on his back..

"Oh my God..." said Grain. Prim looked up from Peeta and gave us a sad smile.

"He'll be alright" she said. "But he must have gotten at least fifty lashes" she said.

"What happened?" asked Rye.

"Yeah, what happened?" my mother asked. I sighed.

"We were at the Hob and it was a pretty normal day. Then a huge swarm of Peacekeepers came and started to wreck everything and hurt everyone. Peeta saw a Peacekeeper beating up Greasy Sae and he tackled him to the ground." I gulped. "I went over to Greasy Sae and helped her up, but when I went back, he was gone. Ripper told me he was at the square and when I got there, he was attatched to the whipping post and was getting whipped by the new Head Peacekeeper. I intervened and he whipped me in the face, and when I wouldn't move, he was about to shoot me. I would be dead if Haymitch weren't there." My mother gasped and Grain patted me on the back.

"Thanks" he said.

That night, my mom gave me some snow for my lash and I refused to leave Peeta's side. Eventually my mother and Prim gave up and Rye and Grain went home.

I ran my hand through Peeta's hair. His eyes fluttered open.

"Hey Katniss" he said.

"You're awake" I said in disbelief.

"I guess I am" he said

"Rye and Grain came to visit you. They are really worried about you." I paused. "Peeta, that was a really stupid thing to do. You could have gotten killed."

"You could have too" he said. "Standing up for me like that."

"I guess we're both stupid."

We sat in silence for a minute. Then Peeta winced. "It hurts" he groaned. I stood up and got some of the sleep medicine that Prim left on the counter incase he woke up. I gave him some and he drank it all. His eyes started to droop. "Stay with me" he said.

"Always" I said as he fell asleep.

* * *

It's been two weeks since Peeta got whipped and before we knew it he was up and running again, which I was greatful for.

One night, we sat infront of the fireplace. Prim and mother had gone to bed early and it was just us.

"I love you" Peeta said. I snuggled closer to him.

"I love you too" I said. I paused. "I wish we could just get married already."

Peeta smiled. "Why don't we?"

I sat up. "What?"

"It doesn't have to be legal, we could just do a toasting." He paused. "Unless, you don't want to."

I thought about it. If we did do a toasting, then we would have had a secret marriage. Our secret. Our only secret.

"Yes" I said. "Let's do it."

Peeta smiled. We walked into the kitchen and got a piece of bread. We put it on the end of the fire poker and toasted the bread.

"Peeta, I love you more than anything in the world" I said with tears in my eyes.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me" he said. We kissed.

That night, when we finished our toasting, we got into bed.

"I love you" he said.

"I love you more" I said.

He smiled. "Wanna bet?" His started kissing me.

Things got more heated and we couldn't stop kissing.

Then some, uh,... 'things'... happened...

* * *

The bell chimed as I walked through the door of the bakery.

Grain looked up at me. "PEETA, IT'S YOUR GIRL!" he yelled.

"Nice to see you too Grain" I said sarcastically. He smiled.

"Coming!" said Peeta. He came out of the kitchen with Rye trailing behind him. He took off his apron and I smiled.

Peeta walked over to me. "Why are you wearing makeup?" he asked.

"It's still on? I swore I got most of it off." I looked at my reflection in the window.

"What were you doing?" he asked. I looked over at Rye and Grain. Rye was leaning against the door frame and Grain was leaning against the counter on his elbows, both with smiles on their faces. I sighed.

"I had a wedding dress photo shoot" I muttered. Grain whopped and threw his hands in the air while Rye clapped. I wanted to slap them both in the face.

Grain pretended to get tears in his eyes. "I can't believe my little sister is growing up." I rolled my eyes.

Peeta smiled. "Did you like any of them?" he asked.

I shook my head. "They were all too Capitol fashioned." I paused. "They're airing it on television tonight, so you can't come over until it ends. Prim and Mother want to watch it and you aren't supposed to see the dress until the wedding."

He pouted and Rye walked over to us. "Don't worry Kitten" he said, pulling Peeta towards him. "I can asure you Romeo here is in good hands."

"I'm a year older than you" Peeta told Rye.

"I trust you" I said to Rye. "But if he comes back with even a scratch on him, I know where you live." With that I walked out of the bakery and to my house.

That night, Prim snuggled next to me and my mother sat next to her. The shoot came on and I looked at myself on the screen.

"You look beautiful" Prim said when the dress with all the blue and green feathers came on.

"Cinna did a really good job" I said.

When it was over, I was about to turn the television off when President Snow came on.

"This year, is the 75th annual Hunger Games, which means that it is the third Quarter Quell." The Quarter Quell happened every twenty five years, and it was Hunger Games that had a 'special' twist to it. President Snow pulled a card out of a small box. "This year, there will be a Reaping from the existing victors of each District."

Oh. My. God.

No. No no no no no no no NO!

I was going back into the arena.


	15. I'm Fine

We all just sat in silence.

"Katniss..." said Prim. I stood up.

"This can't be happening..." I felt tears stream down my face as I ran out the door. Mom and Prim were calling after me, but I just walked out into the freezing cold. I looked in Peeta's window and saw that Rye and Grain were just sitting on the couch in silence with the television on. I understood.

Neither of them wanted to be the first to tell Peeta.

I didn't either.

I ran across up to Haymitch's house and banged on the front door. I didn't wait for an answer and walked in.

Haymitch was sitting in a chair in front of the television, drinking some liquor. "Come here to cry sweetheart?" he asked, not turning around.

"No" I said, grabbing his bottle, "I came for a drink." I took a gigantic swig and gagged. It burned my throat. "I need to talk." I sat in the chair next to him. "Look Haymitch. You chose Peeta last time. So you owe me."

"Alright" he said. "I'll volunteer if his name is called. But you do realize if my name is picked, he'll volunteer for me."

Of course he would. This is Peeta we were talking about. "If that happens, do whatever it takes to get him out of there."

"Okay" he said saddly. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you." I nodded and ran out the door without a word.

I ran down the street. People looked out their windows as I passed, but I just ignored them.

I had to get out of there.

I ran up to the fence and crawled underneath. I ran up to the tree and got out my bow and arrows. I ran into the trees until my fake leg got caught on a root. I tripped and fell. The snow was freezing, but I didn't care. I just sat up and cried.

No. I had to stay strong.

I got up and wiped my eyes. I fixed my leg so that I could walk. I walked slowly through all of the trees. It started snowing, and it eventually became hard. I just wanted to go home.

When I was a few meters away from the fence, I stopped.

Something wasn't right.

Through all the snow, I saw that the fence was crackling and lit up. It took me a minute to realize what was happening.

The fence was on.

The fence is normally an electrical fence, but it was never on. Until now.

How was I going to get out? I looked up and saw one a tree that hovered over the fence. If I climbed it, I could jump over the fence. It was risky, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to go home.

I climbed up the tree until I was above the fence. I crawled along a brach that went over the fence. I looked down and saw that I was pretty high...

No. Just jump.

I crouched on the branch, took a deep breath, and leaped.

I hit the ground and felt a sharp pain shoot up my real leg. I tried to stand, but I fell down again.

Come on Katniss. Get up.

I got up and leaned on my fake leg, which was really uncomfortable. But I sucked it up and started towards my house. I got up the steps and opened the door.

My mother was holding a sobbing Prim on the couch and whispering things in her ear. Rye and Grain were on the couch, but I didn't see Peeta.

I shut the door and everyone looked at me. "Katniss!" Prim screamed. She ran up and hugged me. I winced and she let go.

"What happened?" asked my mother, getting up.

"I went into the woods and the fence was on. I climbed up a tree and jumped off. I think I broke my ankle." My mother and Prim helped me over to the couch. I sat in between Grain and Rye and Prim got me a blanket and a chair for me to put my leg up on. She took my shoe off and started fixing my ankle.

"I was worried about you" said Grain.

"Me too" said Rye.

"Did either of you tell Peeta?" I asked. They both looked uncomfortable.

"We did" said Rye. "But he just sort of had a mental breakdown and went to the bakery. I haven't seen him since."

"Did you even try to talk to him?" I asked angrily.

"We both know better than to know to bother him when he's like this" said Grain saddly.

"There" said Prim. She had wrapped up my ankle in bandages. "You'll have to stay in bed for a week, but you'll be fine." I suddenly felt like crying.

No. I wasn't going to cry. I had to show them that I was okay.

"Katniss, are you okay?" asked my mom.

"Y-Yeah" I said. "I'm fine."

"Katniss, no you aren't" said Prim.

"I am!" I said, tears filling my eyes. "I'm f-fine!"

I burst into tears.

Great.

Prim sat down and pulled me into a hug. Then she started crying and I put my face in my hands.

Why?

"Can you boys go get Peeta?" asked my mother. "I think she needs him right now." They nodded and ran out the door. My mother pulled Prim into a hug and she started getting tears in her eyes.

A few minutes later the door burst open. I looked up and saw Peeta standing there with Grain and Rye standing behind him.

He ran over to me and pulled me into a hug. "It'll be alright" he whispered. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you." I cried harder.

_Oh Peeta._

_You're the one getting out of there._

_Not me._

**I'm like so sad right now because this is just gonna get so much sadder...**

**Please Review :'(**


	16. And We Thought It Couldn't Get Worse

The next morning, Peeta, Haymitch and I sat at my kitchen table. We were done crying our hearts out and it was time to get down to business.

How to live.

"We're going up against victors, people who have won before and intend to win again" said Haymitch. "A good number of them could be nice, but most of them are deadly."

"We have to train like Careers" Peeta said. "These people are experienced. They know what they're doing. We don't."

"I think we should get allies" I said. "If they're experienced and won't kill us in our sleep, then they can help us live longer."

"Good idea" said Haymitch. We both knew that I meant they could help Peeta live longer if he went in.

So for the next couple of days, we trained by running around the District, doing push-ups, climbing up trees, all sorts of things to gain our strength.

One morning, I got up and felt like throwing up. I ran into the bathroom and puked.

Huh. That's strange. I never vomit.

I got changed and walked downstairs. Prim was making eggs. The smell made me want to throw up. I ran into the bathroom and threw up again.

I walked back to the kitchen. "Are you okay?" asked Peeta.

"Yeah, just having a rough morning." He nodded and Prim gave me a plate of egg free breakfast. I ate it all and got seconds.

"Someone's hungry" joked Prim.

"I just puked twice. My stomach was literally empty" I said. A look of concern crossed her face, but she pushed it off.

This was what happened for the next couple of days. I was starting to get worried. I was getting weaker and more tired. If this didn't clear away soon, I would be screwed in the arena.

I realized what was wrong with me on the eigth day.

I was in the shower and looked at myself in the full length mirror. I noticed that my stomach was a little larger than it usually was.

Huh. That's strange. These days I could barely hold anything down...

Wait.

Vomiting. Eating more. Sleeping in. Tired all the time.

No. I couldn't be...

But we never...

Our wedding night.

Shit.

I got out of the shower, got dressed for bed, locked the door, and curled up in a ball under my covers.

This could not be happening.

But it was.

I put my head in my hands and started crying. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Katniss?" It was Peeta. The number one person I didn't want to see. "Are you okay?"

I crawled out of bed and walked over to the door. I opened the door and he looked at me.

"What happened?" he asked worridly.

"I-I...I'm...I can't..." How was I supposed to tell him?

"What's wrong?" He was getting really worried.

I walked over to the bed and crawled under the covers. I threw the covers over my head. "I can't tell you" I said.

I felt him sit don next to me. "Why not?"

"It-It's bad..."

"Just say it Katniss" he said seriously.

"Baby" I whispered.

"What do-" He got the message.

We both stayed absolutely silent. I just wanted to shrivel up and die right there.

"Katniss," he said after a while, "get out of there."

I took the covers off of my head, but refused to look him in the eye. I just couldn't.

He crouched down on the floor so he was at eye level with me. "Look at me" he said.

"No" I whispered.

"Please?"

I slowly turned and faced him. I felt a tear slip down my cheek as I looked into his crystal blue eyes. He took my hand and held it his.

"I promise, everything will be alright. I'll get you out of there."

That was it.

I lost it.

I started sobbing. Peeta got up on the bed and pulled me into a hug while I cried.

"Peeta, will you stay with me? No matter what?"

I swear I felt his heart break in his chest. "A-Always" he whispered.

He thought that he wasn't going to live. But the truth is, I wasn't. But what made it a billion times worse was the baby.

Our baby.

* * *

For the next couple of weeks, we trained harder than ever. Peeta and I decided not to tell anyone, it would just make them all heartbroken.

Like we weren't heartbroken enough...

I got stronger and faster and was able to maneuver better. I wasn't going to let a bump in the road stop me from achieving my goal, even though the bump was pretty big.

I was going to save Peeta.

On the day of the Reaping, Peeta and I got dressed in some nice clothes. I was about to leave the room when something caught my eye.

My mockingjay pin.

I grabbed it, pinned it to my dress, and walked out the door.

Peeta, Haymitch and I walked together to the town square. The Peacekeepers led us up to the stage. Effie stood in the middle, Haymitch and Peeta stood on one side of her and I stood on the other.

I looked into the crowd and saw my mother and Prim with scared expressions on their faces. I also found Grain and Rye who looked the same.

"Ladies first" said Effie, without her usual peppy attitude. Even she was feeling upset. Effie picked the only slip in the whole bowl. "Katniss Everdeen." She looked at me and I saw she had tears in her eyes. I didn't know what to think. I walked over to her and faced the crowd. No surprise that I was chosen.

"Now, for the boys" she said. She looked into the bowl and picked one of the slips.

Not to be mean or anything, but I hoped that Peeta would get picked so that Haymitch could volunteer. I mean, Haymitch even told me that he hated life.

She opened it and I held my breath. "H-Haymitch Abernathy."

"I volunteer" said Peeta. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. This couldn't be happening...

But it was.

The Peacekeepers led us of the stage. "We're going to the train" one of them said.

"Wait, I didn't say goodbye" I said.

"Change of plans" another snapped. Peeta and I looked at eachother.

I guess things found a way to get worse.

And there was more yet to come...

**Sorry to say that it gets worse...**

**Review!**


	17. Training

Opening Ceremony.

Cinna gave me a black suit and braided my hair into some sort of intricate braid that went down my back. We didn't talk, it was too painful. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see the Girl on Fire. She was gone. I saw the embers, rekindling to make a deathly fire.

I loved it.

"Thank you" I said. He nodded.

We walked over to the chariots and I saw Peeta talking to a girl with black hair. I think she was from District Seven, but I wasn't sure.

I walked over to our chariot and started petting the horse.

"Wanna sugar cube?"

I turned to see the guy from District Four, Finnick Odair. His District partner, Mags, volunteered for a girl with red hair that everyone said went crazy.

"No thanks" I said, turning back to the horse.

"It must be hard, you know, having to go in the arena before you get married."

I froze. I forgot. No one knew that Peeta and I got married.

"Yeah" I said. "It is."

Finnick popped a sugar cube in his mouth. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to watching it."

I faced him. "Don't you have to go get money from all of the Capitol fans who woo over you?" I snapped. Stupid hormones.

He just smiled. "No, they don't pay me with cash."

"Then what do they pay you with?"

He leaned into my ear. "Secrets." He paused. "Do you have any secrets?"

"I'm an open book" I lied. No, I did have one secret.

No, two...

"Well, I have to go." he said. "Are you sure you don't want a sugar cube?"

"Positive."

He walked away and I sighed of relief. Peeta came over to me. "What did Finnick Odair want?" I laughed at the way he said his name.

"He wanted to know my secrets. I told him I was an open book." I looked at Finnick. "He creeps me out."

Peeta smiled and we got onto the chariot. Cinna came over to me and handed me a black button.

"Press this when you're ready" he said. Confused, I took it and put it in my hand. I held onto Peeta's hand with my other as the first chariot left. "And no more smiling and waving. Show the crowd that you're past that."

When our chariot went in, the crowd burst into cheers. We didn't smile or wave, we just stood there as the chariot moved forward. When we were about halfway through, I pressed the button. An array of sparks came out of our costumes. The crowd cheered even louder.

When our chariot came back, Haymitch was talking to one of the tributes. I walked over to them.

"Sweetheart, I'd like to introduce you to Chaff, from District Eleven" he said.

"H-" Chaff pressed his lips to mine and took my shoulders.

"Nice to meet you" he said. Then he walked away.

Haymitch must have seen my expression because he burst out laughing. I scowled at him.

Peeta came over. "What's so funny?" he asked. Haymitch laughed harder.

"Haymitch is being immature" I said.

"Nothing new" said Peeta.

The three of us walked over to the elevator and before the doors closed, the girl for District Seven came in.

"Oh my god! You're Katniss Everdeen, right?" she asked.

"Uh, yes?"

"I'm Johanna Mason, District Seven. I absolutely loved the outfit you wore in District Three for the Victory Tour! I wish I could have a styalist like Cinna. I mean, mine just put me in a stupid tree costume. Nothing original." She started taking off her braclets and pulled one sleeve off, then another, and eventually her whole costume was on the floor. I just kept looking at the ceiling, not wanting to have this situation get any awkward. "Oh, my floor" she said. She walked out of the elevator and turned to us. "This was fun!" The doors closed and I felt Haymitch and Peeta looking at me.

"Don't you even dare say one thing."

They both started laughing hysterically. Boys.

* * *

Training day.

Haymitch said that we should try to find allies. So I walked around, trying to see if there was anyone that we could trust, but most of the people looked like they wanted to kill me.

I saw the two tributes from District Three, Wiress and Beetee. They were both talking and looking at the Gamemakers.

"Hey" I said, walking up to them. They both turned and smiled at me. "What're you talking about?"

Beetee pointed to the Gamemakers. "There's a forcefield blocking them from us."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Look at the top corner" said Wiress. I did and noticed that there was a slight shimmering. "I wonder why they would do that."

"Oh, uh, I think I know" I said. They both looked at me. "Last year, I may or may not have shot an arrow into them during my private training." My cheeks went red with embaressment.

They both smiled. "That takes guts" Beetee said. I smiled.

When I finished talking to them, I walked over to Mags. She was making some sort of intricate fishing hook.

"That's cool" I said. She looked up at me and smiled. "If you teach me to make a hook like that, I can teah you how to hunt." She nodded her head enthusiastically. We walked over to the target section and I grabbed a bow and arrow. Mags watched me as I aimed the arrow at the target and shot it head on.

I walked over to the next target and again, hit it in the center. I walked over to the next target and hit it in the center. The same for the next one. And the next. And the next. Until all of the targets had an arrow in them. Mags clapped.

When training was finished, Peeta and I went back to our apartment.

"So, who do you want to be your allies?" asked Haymitch. "You must have done something good, because a heck of a lot of people want you two as their allies."

"I want Beetee and Wiress" I said.

Peeta snorted. "Johanna calls them Nuts and Volts."

"Okay, who else?" asked Haymitch.

"Mags."

Haymitch sighed. "I'll tell them you're still deciding."

Just then Effie walked in. "I have a surprise" she said. She took out a golden braclet and a golden necklace. She gave the necklace to Peeta and the braclet to Haymitch.

"There" she said. "Now we're a team." She looked at me and started getting tears in her eyes.

"Yeah" I said. "A team."

* * *

Private training.

Peeta and I were the last two people sitting in the center. Chaff was with the Gamemakers and we were waiting to go.

"Peeta, how are we going to kill these people?" I asked. He looked at me.

"We'll figure something out" he said saddly.

The speaker went on. "Katniss Everdeen" it said.

I let out a shaky breath. "Wish me luck."

I walked through the doors and saw Plutarch Heavensbee looking at me. "You have ten minutes to show us what you can do" he said.

I thought about what I could do. I showed off my archery skills last year, so I couldn't do it this year.

I suddenly got an amazing idea.

I took one of the target dummies and a coil of rope. I tied a noose and put it over the neck of the dummy. Then I went over to the paint section, took a blob of red paint, and wrote 'Seneca Crane' on it. I threw the rope over a beam on the ceiling and pulled the dummy up in the air.

The Gamemakers all looked at me in disbelief. "Y-You may go Miss Everdeen" said Plutarch Heavensbee. I nodded and walk out the door.

Oh boy, was I in trouble.

* * *

"You _what_!?" screamed Effie. This was the same exact reaction she had last year. Funny.

"I hanged Seneca Crane" I said.

"This is horrible!" she screamed.

"Then I guess this is a bad time to mention that I painted a picture of Rue buried in flowers" Peeta said. I looked at him in disbelief.

"I don't know what's worse!" said Effie, throwing her hands up in defeat. "But you're just asking for trouble." She walked out of the room.

Haymitch looked at us and stood up. "You two have guts." Then he walked out of the room.

Peeta and I sat in silence. "I'm going to my room" I said after a minute. Peeta didn't try to stop me, which I was grateful for.

I walked into my room, got out of my training outfit, and crawled into bed. I couldn't believe Peeta did that. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of Rue. I touched my stomach and saw that it was getting larger. I hoped nobody would notice...


	18. Interviews

Interview day.

We were eating breakfast. "Effie and I think that since you did fine during your interviews last year, you don't need to prepare today" Haymitch said.

"So we can do whatever we want?" Peeta asked. Haymitch nodded.

After breakfast, Peeta and I went up to the roof. We laid down next to eachother and absorbed the warm sun.

When it got around noon, I was sitting in Peeta's lap and he was playing with my braid. Suddenly, he stopped.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I wish we could just freeze this moment and stay like this forever" he said.

"Me too" I whispered.

We just spent the whole day relaxing on the roof. When the sunset came, Peeta and I looked out at the sky.

"That's my favorite color" he said.

"Orange?"

"No. Sunset orange."

I nodded. "Mine's green. Like the forest." I paused. "But orange is more beautiful."

Interviews.

My Prep Team was unusually quiet. They didn't talk, except for asking me to do something.

"Thank you" I said quietly. They nodded and walked out the door.

Cinna came in with a white gown. It looked like one of my wedding dresses...

"President Snow wants you to wear this" he said. Of course he did.

Cinna helped me put it on. I noticed that you could just barely make out my bump. Cinna didn't seem to notice.

"I want you to spin again. But don't lift up your arms until then. Okay?"

"Okay." We walked out of the room and to the backstage. Everyone looked at me, but I just tried to ignore them.

"You look so beautiful" said Effie.

I looked down at all the pearls and sparkles. "Thank you." Just then peeta walked in. He was wearing a tuxedo with white gloves. When he saw me, he smiled.

"You look beautiful" he said. I smiled.

The first people to go were Cashmere and Gloss, brother and sister from District One. Then Brutus and Enobaria from District Two. Then Wiress and Beetee, then Finnick and Mags and so on. Then it was my turn.

Before I went on stage, I caught Johanna smiling at me. "Wedding dress, huh?"

"President Snow made me wear it."

She smirked. "Make him pay for it."

"Ladies and gentlemen" said Ceaser Flickerman, "the Girl on Fire, Katniss Everdeen!" I walked onto stage and everyone gasped at my dress.

I sat next to Ceaser. "Wow, that's quite a dress" he said.

I smoothed my hand over a wrinkle. "It was going to be my wedding dress. But now, the wedding can never happen."

The audience went completely silent.

"I'm sorry about that" said Ceaser like he really meant it. "Can you spin for us, one more time?"

Shakily, I stood up and started spinning. I lifted my arms into the air and everyone cheered.

Then slowly, the bottom of the dress caught fire. But they slowly spread and eventually the whole dress was in flames. A few people cried out, thinking it was a fabulous fashion design gone wrong, but the flames cleared to show a bird costume. But not just any bird.

A mockingjay.

I was a mockingjay.

"You're a bird!" said Ceaser, astonished.

"A mockingjay" I said. I lifted my arms to the sides and a pair of wing shot out.

"Well, hats off to your styalist!" said Ceaser. The crowd cheered and the cameras zoomed in on Cinna's face in the audience.

Ceaser lifted up my hand. "Katniss Everdeen everyone." The crowd cheered again.

I walked up the stairs and stood next to Chaff. Peeta was next.

"So Peeta" said Ceaser. "How are you feeling about the wedding?"

Peeta leaned in closer to Ceaser. "Can you keep a secret?"

_Peeta, what are you doing?_

"That depends" said Ceaser. "What is it?"

"We're already married."

_Why did you say that!_

Chaff gave me a quizical look, but I ignored it.

"What do you mean?" asked Ceaser.

"Well, it wasn't official. We just did a toasting, which is what everyone does in District Twelve when they get married."

"You two must be very happy."

"Well, not really."

_Peeta, don't do it._

Ceaser looked confused. "But, surely a little time together is better than none?"

"It would be. If it were... if... if it weren't..." Peeta sighed.

"If it weren't for what?"

"If it weren't for the baby."

_Peeta, you didn't!_

But he did.

Shit.

The crowd got angry, screaming at the Capitol to stop the Quell. Peeta walked up the stairs and stood next to me. He gave me an apologetic look. All of the tributes were looking at the two us. I looked at my feet.

Peeta took my hand in his. Chaff took my hand too and took Seeder's hand in his Eventually all of us were holding hands with the person next to us.

We were one.

And we had to stick together.

That night, when we got back to the apartment, I didn't look anyone in the eye. I started walking to my room.

"Katniss, wait" said Haymitch. That was probably the only time he used my real name. I slowly turned to face him.

"Yeah?" I asked, rubbing my arm.

"Good luck. And... just remember who the enemy is" he said.

"Will do" I said.

"Any last words of advice?" asked Peeta.

"Stay alive."

The next day.

The day I had been dreading.

I woke up to see my Prep Team standing around my bed, looking at Peeta and I like they wanted to cry. Then Peeta woke up and had to leave. I didn't want him to go, but he gave me a kiss and walked out.

My Prep Team was absolutely silent as they worked. It made me seriously uncomfortable.

All of a sudden, Octavia burst into tears.

"You remember what Cinna said" Venia said angrily. Octavia nodded and walked out.

A few minutes later, I felt something wet hit my shoulder and I realized that Flavius was crying. "Flavius" said Venia. He put the brush he was using on the drsser and walked out of the room.

When Venia finished, she stepped back and looked at me. "We just wanted you to know that... we are truly sorry you have to go through this."

I nodded and she left. It wasn't about what was said, but what was implied.

Thank you.

"Here" said Cinna, handing me my outfit. It was a blue outfit made from some sort of elasitc material. "It's thin and isn't waterproof, which means that you are going some place that is either surrounded by water or desert."

"I loved the dress last night." He nodded.

"I wanted to make it special." I looked at the floor. "Hey" he said, lifting my chin up so I could see him. "I'm still betting on you."

I felt tears fill my eyes as I nodded my head. He pulled me into a hug.

"Sixty seconds."

We kept hugging.

"Fifty seconds."

We kept hugging.

"Forty seconds."

We kept hugging.

"Thirty seconds."

We broke apart.

"Twenty seconds."

"I'm still betting on you."

"Ten seconds."

I walked over to the tube and the glass doors closed.

But it didn't go up like I expected.

Instead, I watched in horror as three Peacekeepers came into the launch room and started beating up Cinna with metal studded gloves.

"NO! LET HIM GO!" I pounded on the glass and screamed, but they kept hurting him. Cinna got knocked out and they pulled his body from the room, leaving a trail of thick blood.

Then the plate started to rise.

The sun blinded me for a second, but then I saw my surroundings.

Water.

The first thing I see.

To get to the Cornucopia, you had to swim a pretty long length. But all I could think about was Cinna...

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the 75th annual Hunger Games begin!"

"Fifty nine, fifty eight, fifty seven..."

I looked around and saw that Peeta was eight plates away from me. Beetee was next to him, Wiress was eleven plates away, Mags was two away, Finnick was seven away, and Johanna was next to me.

"Forty four, forty three, forty two..."

_As soon as the gong rings, jump._

"Thirty seven, thirty six, thirty five..."

_Kill all who get in your way._

"Twenty two, twenty one, twenty..."

_Cinna's betting on you._

"Eleven, ten, nine..."

_Remember who the enemy is._

"Three, two, one..."

_Keep Peeta alive._


	19. Fog

The water was cold as it hit my skin.

I propelled my arms as fast as I could through the water. It took me a while, but I finally got to the beach. I got up and immedeatly saw a bow. I grabbed it and saw a hand grab the trident. I looked up and saw it was Finnick. I aimed my bow at his heart.

"You don't want to kill me. I can save your friend over there." He pointed to Peeta, who I saw was having difficulty swimming across.

"Fine. Go save him" I said, annoyed. Finnick was one of the last people I wanted as an ally.

Finnick jumped in the water and slung one of Peeta's arms over his shoulder and swam to shore. I ran over to Peeta.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded, trying to catch his breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mags who was trying to run away from Brutus. I took out an arrow and shot it at his shoulder. He cried out in pain. Finnick ran over to Mags, put her on his back, and the three of us ran into the jungle.

As we got deeper, it got hotter and more humid. It was harder to move and we had to slow down to a walk. Peeta took the lead with a swod and cut through vines and branches that were in the way. Finnick and Mags went second and I went last, my bow prepared to shot anyone that was a threat.

I was looking ahead when something caught my eye.

A slight shimmer...

"Peeta STOP!" I screamed, but it was too late. Peeta had thrust the sword into the forcefield and got blown back into a tree. I dropped my bow and arrows and ran over to him. His eyes were closed and his head was bleeding. I checked his wrist to see if there was a pulse.

There wasn't.

"PEETA!" I screamed. This couldn't be happening...

"Move!" said Finnick. He put down Mags and started kissing Peeta. I was so confused when I realized he was giving mouth to mouth. He pumped his hands on Peeta's chest, trying to get it to restart.

It wasn't working.

"Come on Peeta" he said, giving him more mouth to mouth.

It wasn't working.

He was dead.

I'd failed, and we were only there for two hours.

I put my head in my hands, but no tears came. I was too devastated.

Then I heard a huge gasp and a cry of joy. I looked up and saw Peeta, breathing in huge gulps of air.

"PEETA!" I ran over and hugged him. His heart was beating.

"You can't give up on me that quick" he said. I laughed and wiped tears from my eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I could use some water" he said.

"I think we all could" said Finnick.

"Let me try to find some" I said. I grabbed my bow and climbed up the nearest tree I looked over the arena and only saw salt water. Then I heard a gigantic crack and saw lightning strike the tallest tree.

Glad I wasn't there when that happened.

I climbed down. "Did you see anything?" Finnick asked.

I shook my head. "Only salt water."

Just then, a parachute landed right next to Mags. She picked it up and opened it. It was a small metal tube with a sharp end.

"It's a spile" I said.

"A what?" Finnick asked.

"A spile. You stick it in trees to get the sap out." I walked over to one of the trees and banged it in. It took a few minutes, but suddenly water started pouring out.

"Yes!" said Finnick like a child. He went under the stream and opened his mouth. He drank for what seemed like forever, but he finally moved and I took a generous amount. Then Peeta drank and washed his face. Finnick came with a large leaf and filled it up for Mags.

"Let's stay here for the night" Peeta said, clearly exhausted.

"Okay" Finnick said. We found an area where the ground was pretty flattened out.

"I'll take first shift" I said.

"No, I can" said Peeta. Finnick groaned.

"Please don't tell me you're going to do this all night. Peeta, just let her take first shift. You just died."

Peeta sighed. "Fine. But wake me next."

I nodded and they all laid down. I sat down on a rock.

For the next couple of hours, I just sat on the rock with my bow in hand. After a while, I started getting tired.

Then the fog came.

At first, I didn't know what it was. It was green and misty and I didn't know what to think of it. When it got closer to me, I reached out to touch it. When I felt it, it burned my skin and casued blisters.

I screamed and pulled away. Peeta and Finnick shot up and Mags woke up.

"RUN!" I screamed, getting away. "It's poison!"

Finnick picked up Mags and we all started running through the forest. The fog crept closer and closer to us. Suddenly, my fake leg got caught on a root that was sticking out of the ground and I fell. My legs absorbed the poison and I cried out in agony.

Peeta turned and helped me up, getting half of his body in the fog and he cried out.

"We have to keep moving!" I screamed. I started running, but my legs gave way and I fell again. Peeta tried to help me but I couldn't get back up. Instead, he lifted me up and he caught up to Finnick who was far ahead. Then his arm got caught in the fog and he nearly dropped me.

"Finnick, I can't carry her and she can't walk!" Peeta said paincked. Finnick looked back at us.

"I don't know!" he said. Then Mags got off his back, faced Finnick, kissed him lightly, gave him a sad smile, and walked into the fog. "MAGS!" he screamed.

"We have to keep moving!" I cried. Finnick looked at me saddly and picked me up. He and Peeta started running. They ran onto the beach and we all collapsed

The three of us looked up at the fog, but we saw that it was creeping away. We all just sat in silence for a minute. I looked at the ocean and started pulling myself over to it. I placed my hand in it and it stung, but then gave relief.

"The water helps" I said. Peeta crawled up next to me and we both went in the ocean. It hurt like hell, but it helped.

"Finnick, come here" Peeta said. Finnick crawled over and it was then I realized just how burned he was. He had blisters all over one side of his face and it covered his whole back. He crawled into the ocean and cried out, then sighed.

"Ahh" he said. We all got out of the water and laid on the sand, breathing heavily.

We were okay.

For now.


	20. A Plan

We woke up to the sound of voices.

I sat up and looked around. I didn't see anyone.

Finnick and Peeta sat up too. I grabbed my bow and stood up, hiding behind a tree.

Someone coughed. "Hurry UP!" someone shouted. They sounded familiar...

"Tick tock. Tick tock." Another voice said.

"SHUT UP!"

"Don't talk to her like that" said another. I looked out from behind the trees and saw Johanna, Beetee and Wiress. They were all covered in... blood?

"Johanna!" said Finnick happily. She looked up and smiled. "What happened?" he asked.

"Well, I got stuck with these two bitches as allies, and we were walking when suddenly it started raining blood. Nuts over here went into shock and thinks she's a clock." She scowled at Wiress.

"Tick tock" said Wiress.

"Shut UP!" Johanna yelled.

"Don't yell at her!" I said angrily.

She shot me a death glare. "I don't care if you're knocked up. I'll rip your throat out."

Before I could say anything back, Peeta stood in between the two of us. "No one's ripping anyone's throat out" he said.

Finnick snorted. "That's a stupid thing to say in an arena"

Peeta shot him a look and turned back to Johanna and I. "Right now we need to team up and get the Careers. Then we can worry about, you know."

We got the message.

"Fine" said Johanna, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Sure" I said.

"Good" said Peeta. I looked over at Wiress and Beetee. Beetee was leaning against a tree, winding up a large coil of golden wire. Wiress was dancing around in circles, dripping blood on the white sand.

I walked over to her and led her into the ocean. I sat her down and started cleaning the blood from her hair.

"Tick tock" she said. "Tick tock. Tick tock." I looked over at the Cornucopia. It was interesting; the Cornucopia was in the middle and there were twelve stone pathways that came out of it like spokes on a wheel. Then I remembered how the fog seemed to stop when we got to the beach...

I heard a loud crack. I turned and saw the same lightening strike the tree that I saw the day before. The lightening striked twelve times. It seemed to happen at the same time...

"Tick tock" said Wiress.

"Tick tock" I said. "It's a clock!"

I helped Wiress up and ran over to the people on the beach. "The arena's a clock!" I said excitedly.

"A what?" asked Finnick.

"A clock! The Cornucopia is the middle and a different thing happens in each section." I pointed over to the tree. "At this time, every day, a lightening bolt strikes that tree twelve times."

Beetee looked up at the sun. "And it's right about noon." He looked back at me. "If your theory is correct, then we can tie my coil of wire around the tree. Then we can bring the wire down to the water and when lightening strikes the tree, anyone on the sand will get electricuted.

Johanna stood up. "Sounds like a plan." She picked up her axe. "Let's go."

* * *

"Let's take a break" said Beetee, sitting on a rock.

Johanna groaned. "Get off your lazy ass!"

"Johanna, we've been at this for hours" said Finnick. "Even Wiress is too tired to keep on tick tocking."

We all sat on the ground and Finnick took out some oysters that he had collected from the beach.

Peeta sat down next to me and opened one. "Oh" he said. He pulled out a pearl and handed it to me. "For you."

I smiled and put it in one of the pockets I had.

When everyone was finished and re energized, we got up and started walking again.

Then we heard the scream.

"Prim!" I screamed. I ran ahead of everybody. They were calling my name, but I didn't care.

Prim was in trouble.

"PRIM!" I screamed. Her screams got louder. Finnick ran up to me and took me by the shoulders.

"They aren't real, Katniss. They're just Jabberjays." Sure enough, I saw a flocks of them sitting in the treetops.

"Finnick, Jabberjays record the sounds they hear" I said, panicked. Then I heard an unfamiliar scream.

"Annie!" yelled Finnick. He ran off and I followed him, but the screams just got louder and louder.

They wouldn't stop.

I ran back to where I came from. I saw Peeta, Johanna, Beetee and Wiress all standing there. Peeta started shaking his head and waving his hands, but I didn't understand.

I had to get out of there.

I hit my head on something hard. I felt out in front of me and was touching something, but saw nothing.

A forcefield.

I was trapped.

I crouched down, covered my ears with my hands, clutched my eyes shut, and screamed at the top of my lungs. Peeta was yelling at me, but it was muffled by the forcefield.

Then, it just... stopped.

I kept screaming and Peeta wrapped his arms around me. "Shh, it's okay. She's safe."

We could only hope.

**Sorry, it's not that good, but the next chapter is the real action.**


	21. ATTACK!

"Alright" said Beetee, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Johanna, Katniss, and Wiress, the three of you are going to bring the wire down to the beach. As soon as you do, get as far away as possible and come back here."

"Whoa, wait" said Peeta. "Why are you separating Katniss and I?"

Beetee sighed. "I need you and Finnick to keep me alive. The girls are perfectly capable of bringing the wire down to the beach."

"Peeta, I'll be fine" I said with a smile. He nodded uncertainly.

"Alright. Nuts, Brainless, let's go." Johanna picked up her axe and I picked up my bow.

"Tick tock" said Wiress. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

I grabbed her hand and helped her down the hill. Johanna held the coil of wire.

"We can switch, if you want" I said when we were about a quarter of the way down.

"Nah, you take care of Nuts." I ignored her insult and kept moving. I felt like we were being watched...

I looked around and saw a bunch of orange monkeys, sitting in or behind the trees. It made me slightly uncomfortable, but they weren't bothering us.

Suddenly, Johanna stopped.

"What is it?" I asked.

She tugged at the wire. "It-It's stuck" she said.

"Tick tock" said Wiress.

I tried to help her pull it, but it wasn't budging.

"Tick tock."

We tried pulling harder, but it still wouldn't work.

"Tick tock."

Then the wire snapped.

And the monkeys pounced on us.

"Tick-" A monkey ripped it's claws into Wiress's throat and she laid lifeless on the ground. I picked up my bow and shot arrows, trying to hit as many of the savage beasts in the chest as possible, but there were too many.

I wasn't fast enough.

I looked over at Johanna who was chopping their heads off with her axes, but even she was having trouble keeping up with them.

"PEETA!" I called, trying to get him to hear me over the screeching. No such luck.

"KEEP FIGHTING!" screamed Johanna as she beheaded another monkey.

I reached into my sheath, but found no more arrows. I tried searching the ground for one, but all of the usable ones were too far. This can't be happening...

I tripped over a large rock and fell on the ground. I looked up and saw a monkey that was about to pounce. I slowly backed up until my back hit a tree. The beast bore his fangs. I looked over at Johanna who was trying to get to me, but she was too far. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain...

But it never came.

Instead, the monkey bit into something else. No, someone else. I opened my eyes and screamed.

The monkey's fangs were lodged in Peeta's chest.

"NO!" I screamed. The monkey looked at me, then dropped Peeta on the ground. He could get me now.

I heard a scream and I watched as Finnick thrust his trident into the monkey's throat, killing it instantly. "Help me get him to the beach" he said, lifting up Peeta's legs. I lifted Peeta by his arms and we made it through the crowd of monkeys. Johanna followed us, killing monkeys on the way.

When we made it to the beach, Finnick and I set Peeta down on the sand. His eyes were closed, his golden curls were caked with dirt, his chest was pumping a lethal amount of blood and yet, he had a slight pulse.

"Peeta" I whispered. His eyes peeled open. When he saw me, he smiled.

"H-Hey."

"W-Why did you do that!?" I asked him with tears filling my eyes.

"I n-needed you t-to live."

"I don't need to live! You do!"

He reached into his shirt and pulled out the now blood-covered necklace that Effie had given him.

"Katniss" he said softly. He pushed a button and revealed three panels. One had a picture of my mother, another had a picture of Prim, and another was empty. For the baby. "You have your family. Without you, they wouldn't even be alive." He coughed up some blood. "But me, nobody needs me."

"That's not true" I said, tears pooling my eyes. "I need you." I touched my slightly swollen stomach. "Your family needs you."

Tears filled his eyes and he shook his head slightly. "Pl-Please. Don't make this a-any harder than it is."

I just had to accept it. My husband, my true love, my angel, my hero, my life, my best friend, was about to die. And there was nothing I could do about it.

Nothing.

Not a thing.

But I couldn't accept it.

But what could I do?

I ran a shaky, blood-covered hand through Peeta's curls. His eyes fluttered shut and his pulse got even lighter.

"I love you... more than... anything..." he wheezed.

"I l-love you too" I whispered. His breathing got quieter.

I started to sing.

"Just close your eyes

The sun is going down."

I looked up at the sunset. Peeta's favorite color...

"You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now."

Tears rolled down my face. Peeta was safe. That was the one good thing that seemed to come out of the moment.

"Come morning light,

You and I'll be safe and sound..."

The cannon went off.

No. No no no no no no no NO!

"PEETA!" I screamed. I tried shaking his shoulder, trying anything to get him to wake up, but it wasn't working.

This couldn't be happening...

"You promised you wouldn't leave!" I cried. "You said always!" I tried shaking him again. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw it was Finnick with the same expression he had on his face when Mags died. Despair.

"C'mon" he said quietly. "There's nothing we can do."

"There has to be something!"

But he just shook his head. I felt my heart break into a million pieces and crumple to ashes.

Then the arena exploded.

I didn't know what had happened at first. One moment I'm crying over Peeta's body, the next I'm blown a few feet from Johanna. She rolled over and looked at me, her brown eyes filled with fear, excitement and saddness at the same time. There was a loud noise in the sky. We both looked up to see multiple hovercrafts flying above us.

What the hell just happened?

The claw from the hovercraft above me wraps around my body and lifts me up. The forcefield of the arena was falling to pieces, one chunk at a time. The claw lifted me higher and higher and before it got me into the hovercraft, I blacked out.

I woke up in a cell.

I tried to sit up, but my head hurt too much so I leaned against the wall.

Where was I?

It was dark, cold, and hard to breath. I looked down and saw I was still wearing my outfit from the arena. Still torn, burnt, and covered in blood.

Peeta's blood.

A small wail escaped my lips. Peeta...

Then something in the corner stirred.

No, someone.

They sat up and rubbed the back of their head. It was too dark for me to see who.

"Who's there?" asked a raspy voice.

"K-Katniss" I said. My voice was raspy too.

"It's Johanna." She paused. "There's someone else here too, but I can't see who." Just then, the third person stirred and sat up.

"Who are you?" asked Johanna cautiously.

"A-Annie" she said fearfully. Johanna gasped.

Then the doors of our cell clanked open. I was blinded by the light for a minute, but when I saw who was standing over me, I wanted to scream, but I couldn't.

"Hello ladies" said President Snow.

**The end... NOT!**

**Ha, still got quite some more to go. I'm not ****_that_**** heartless.**

**But, heartless enough to leave you off here :P**


	22. Torture

**I am so sorry for the death of Peeta. It truly broke my evil heart.**

**But, things will get better...ish. You'll have to wait to find out ;)**

Goodness knows how long I have been in this shithole.

Weeks, months, years, I don't know.

All I know is that it's been a long time since I broke.

At first, I'd held up. They'd torture me and I'd bite my lip, grinding it out. But that didn't last long.

You'd understand if you've been whipped, scarred, cut, and burned more times than you can keep count in one day.

You'd understand if you'd been forced to watch the people you truly love explode over and over and over again, knowing you were to blame.

You'd understand if you had to scream until you couldn't breathe, cry until you were out of tears, had have them never leave you alone.

You'd understand if you had to worry about the child growing inside you when your body was failing.

You'd understand if you watched the two people you learned to call your friends go through horrible torture because you weren't told anything your torturers wanted to know.

You'd understand if you let go of every single piece of hope you were able to grasp.

You'd understand if you watched your life die right before your eyes, yet you were alive when all you wanted was to die, to get away from the living hell.

You'd understand if your Peeta died.

You'd understand if you were me.

So when the door to my cell opened, you have no idea how terrified I was.

No idea.

"Come on" the Peacekeeper growled. I stood up on two shaky legs and slowly walked out the door.

Four Peacekeepers surrounded me on all sides so I couldn't escape. But it was pointless; I don't think I had the guts or the energy to do so.

"Hurry up" said the Peacekeeper behind me, pushing me forward and causing me to stumble. My bare feet scraped against the rough stone floors and the started to bleed. Oh well.

I walked past the room that Annie was getting tortured in. She was screaming and crying, begging them to stop, but they just went along cutting knives into her skin.

If I could've, I would've went in there and killed every single one of them. But no, I couldn't.

No way I could've.

The Peacekeeper behind me hit my back with the butt of his gun and I walked as fast as I could, which was wasn't very fast.

I was led into my torture room. I felt _so_ special; I had my own room for them to beat me until the brink of death. But no, I never died.

Why would they want to give me relief?

The Peacekeeper yanked my arm and pulled me over to the wall where the chains dangled. He cuffed both my hands so I couldn't move away.

"So, Miss Everdeen" he said with a smirk. "We have a question for you."

Here we go again.

"Where are the rebels?"

"I don't know" I said.

He sighed. "Now, I'll ask you again. Where are they?"

"I don't know" I said a little louder.

He pulled the whip out of his belt loop and lashed me across the cheek. I cried out. He laughed and whipped me again, on the shoulder.

And this was just the beginning...

* * *

"It's okay" said Johanna as she ran a hand through my bloody hair. After three painful hours, my torture had finally ended. After they had messily stitched me up, they threw me back into my cell where Johanna and Annie were waiting. And like she always did after my torture, Johanna pulled my head onto her lap and fixed me up the best she could while telling me that it was alright, even though we both knew she was lying.

"No it isn't" I muttered. "I wish I could just die, right now."

Johanna sighed. "Don't we all?"

Annie nodded. "I-I just... I want to go home." Her green eyes filled with tears.

"I'd rather be anywhere than here." I said. "Just far away, with Peeta..." My breath got shaky.

Johanna and Annie looked at each other. They both knew that I was still gravely suffering from the death of Peeta, but they didn't know how to help me. The only thing that could help me was being with Peeta.

Just another reason to want to die.

I reached into my pocket and touched the pearl Peeta gave me. It was the only piece of him I had left. The only thing that could calm me down. The only thing that told me he was still with me.

The only thing that meant always.

"I-I miss him" I said.

"I know" Johanna whispered. "I know."

"I just wish... wish..." I sighed. "I don't remember how to wish."

"You can't lose hope Katniss" said Johanna. "They'll come and get us."

"Johanna, I don't even remember how long it's been since I've seen daylight" I said.

"Me neither" confessed Annie.

"And, what's the point? My life has no purpose anymore."

"Katniss," said Johanna, "you have to realize that you, and only you, are the symbol of the rebellion. If they don't get you back soon, then people are going to give up the fight and let the Capitol win. We can't let this happen."

She was right.

But the problem was, I lost all my hope.

And I wasn't able to find it.

"I-I can't" I said, getting tears in my eyes. "Peeta was my only hope. And when he died, my hope died with him."

"Finnick is my hope" Annie muttered, covering her ears with her hands. She sat back on her heels and started rocking back and fourth. I sat up and stroked her red hair.

"Don't give up hope" I said, tears crawling down my face. "Just because I did, doesn't mean you should."


	23. Cease-fire

"Good morning Miss Everdeen" said Snow.

When the Peacekeepers came into my cell and told me that Snow wanted to speak to me, I was terrifyed. I didn't know what he would ask me to do.

"I have a proposal to make." This can't be good. "I am going to put you in an interview with Caeser Flickerman, and you are going to do what I tell you. Or," he pointed to my stomach, "a certain someone gets killed."

I touched my stomach. "W-What do you want me to say?"

He smiled his horrific smile. "I want you to call a cease-fire. Tell everyone that we will all be killed off like before."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Good." His smile went away. "Now get out. And be careful not to drip blood on the carpet."

The Peacekeepers yanked me out of my chair, pushed me out the door, and led me back to my cell. Annie wasn't back yet, but Johanna was leaning against the wall, looking out into space. I sat down next to her. She looked at me and took yet another strip of cloth from her shirt and started wiping away some of the blood.

"Annie isn't back yet" she said.

"I know" I said.

"And the problem is, it makes me... worried."

What? "What is that supposed to mean?"

She sighed. "The Capitol can't hurt me because there's no one left I love." She wrapped the cloth around a bleeding gash on my arm. "And, if I'm worried about Annie... it means the Capitol can hurt me. Use her against me." She paused. "And they can use you against me too."

"Johanna," I said quietly. "love isn't a weakness. It's a strength. Even in the darkest of days, love can last. And it will last forever, even when the one you love is gone." I paused. "Like Peeta."

The door to our cell was thrown open and Annie was dropped on the floor. The door closed again and Annie started screaming at the top of her lungs.

"NO! NO! STOP! PLEASE STOP!" she cried.

Johanna and I ran over to her and knelt down. "Annie!?" Johanna asked.

"STOP THE FIRE! STOP THE FIRE!" she curled up in a ball and cried.

"Annie, it's over!" I said. She just kept crying and rolled over on her stomach. I gasped when I saw the back of her shirt... well, there barely was one. All thst there was were shredded and burned remains. And her back was covered with bleeding and blistering burn marks. They were worse than I'd ever seen.

"It'll NEVER be over! NEVER!" She started screaming. "FINNICK! FINNICK!

So it was official.

Annie had lost her hope too.

Johanna went pale. She sat Annie up and pulled her into a hug. "Shh, it's okay."

"No it isn't" Annie whispered. "Stop LYING!"

Johanna looked at me, as if asking me for help, but I just shook my head. "Johanna, you can say it all you want. But it'll never be okay. Never."

* * *

It was time for my interview.

Yipee.

I was led to the hospital where they stitched me up much more efficiantly and rubbed creams on me that made the pain go away almost instantly. When they finished, I was brought over to the room my Prep Team would do my hair and makeup in. Then the Peacekeepers walked out of the room and stood outside the door.

I slowly sat down in the lether chair and looked at myself in the mirror.

My, didn't I look horrible.

My skin was a ghost white, my hair was caked with blood and grime, there were lines and lines of scars and stitches across my skin, my Quarter Quell outfit was nothing but a bunch of blood soaked rags, and my face said one word.

Help.

The door opened and I saw three people I least expected to see.

My Prep Team.

Well, I was brought back to my old Prep Room, and I guess it made logical sense that my Prep Team was there.

"KATNISS!" they screamed. They ran over to me and all enveloped me in a hug.

"Are you alright!?" asked Octavia.

"N-"

"Of course she isn't!" said Venia. "Just look at her! And incase you didn't remember, Peeta died!?"

"How could I forget?" asked Octavia. "I cried through the whole thing!"

"So did I" I muttered. They all looked at me.

"Oh Katniss" said Flavius sympathetically. "Just keep your chin up and put on a smile." He turned to Venia and Octavia. "Let's get to work."

They tore my Quarter Quell outfit off my body and gently scrubbed the blood and grime off my body and out of my hair. Then they used a ton of makeup to try and cover up the scars, but they were still visable. I was wearing a bright pink lipstick a sparkly green dust was sprinkled on the corners of my eyes. My dress was a bright green withno sleeves and ruffles on the top with several layers of skirts from my waist under.

Of course green. The color the opposite of fire.

And you could clearly see my swollen stomach under my dress. I must have been at least four months...

"Thank you" I said to my Prep Team. Venia gave me a sad smile.

"You're welcome."

We walked out the door and the Peacekeepers led me to the back of the stage. My Prep Team did some last minute efforts to hide my scars, but you could still see them. I walked on stage and Caeser gave me a smile.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Sure" I muttered.

"So...Katniss...welcome back" said Caeser with a smile.

"Hello" I said without a smile.

"I confess, I never thought I'd see you here again."

"It wasn't part of my plan" I said with a slight frown.

"What was the plan, then?"

"I-I wanted... Peeta to... live..." I curled my legs up to my chest. "But that never happened..."

Ceaser saw how uncomfortable I was and changed the subject. "Why don't you tell us about that last night in the arena?" suggests Caesar.

I nod. "That night...to tell you about that night...well, first of all, you have to imagine how it felt to be in that arena. That death trap, innocent people dying every day, right before your eyes. Knowing that you would have to take someone's life just to save someone else that won't be you."

"It costs your life," says Caesar.

"No, more than that. It costs everything you are."

The world went silent. I continued. "So you hold onto your wish. And that last night, my wish was to save Peeta. But..." I felt the tears pushing at the back of my eyes. "That never happened..."

"You were too caught up in the moment" said Caesar.

"No, I was too busy waiting for the pain that never came. And Peeta... why did he do that, god damn it!" I burst out. "I can't help but think that if we weren't separated, he would still be alive. He knows how to use a bow! He could have shot that damn mutt when I ran out of arrows!"

Caeser nodded sympathetically. "I understand. It was hard for all of us to watch."

"It's worse when you're there" I muttered. I was too upset to be angry.

"We can stop if you want" said Caeser.

"What more is there to discuss?" I asked sadly.

"I was going to ask what you thought of the war, but if you're too upset..."

"Oh, I'm not too upset to answer that" I said. Here we go. I turned to the camera. "I want everyone watching - whatever side you may be on, to stop and think for a moment about what this war could mean. For humans. We almost went extinct fighting one another before. Now our numbers are even fewer. Our conditions worse. Is this really what we want to do? Kill ourselves off completely? In the hope that - what? We will win nothing?"

"I'm not sure I'm following..." said Caesar.

"We can't fight one another" I said. "There won't be enough of us left to keep going. If everybody doesn't lay down their weapons soon, it's all over."

"So...you're calling for a cease-fire?" Caesar asks.

"Yes. I'm calling for a cease-fire." There. Done.

If only I was.

**Again, very sorry for Peeta's death. Very heartless of me, I know.**

**But there's going to be a twist that you won't expect...**


	24. Baby

The next morning, when I woke up, instead of being led to my normal torture room, I was led down a different hallway into another room. I was no longer wearing my beautiful dress and was back to wearing my rags.

No good thing lasts long.

They sat me down in a metal chair and put restraints on me so I couldn't get up. Then the Peacekeeper took out his very familiar knife.

There was an empty chair across from me. I wonder...

Just then the door opened and a crew of Peacekeepers came in, with Johanna.

What's going on?

When Johanna saw me, her eyes widened. She was sat down in the chair and restrained like me. The Head Peacekeeper smiled.

"Perfect" he said with a smile. "Now that we're all here, let's begin." He turned to Johanna. "Where are the rebels?"

She snarled. "I'll never tell."

His smile went wider.

Then he cut his knife into my arm.

Deep into my arm.

I cried out. Johanna looked at me as if not knowing what to think.

"Now, I'll ask you again. Where are the rebels?"

"I don't know" said Johanna a little less forcefully.

The Head Peacekeeper drove his knife into my arm again in a different place. Again, I cried out.

What were they doing?

But I didn't get it until we were about an hour into torture. Johanna would be asked the same question again and again and again, and she would answer no, but less confident as they went on. Meanwhile they cut slits all down my arm and moved onto my other, then started doing my back.

Blood was flowing out of my cuts and the pain was blinding.

"Again" said the Head Peacekeeper calmly, holding the dripping wet knife. "Where are the rebels?"

Johanna looked at me with pity. "I don't know..." she whispered.

The Head Peacekeeper drove the knife into my leg and I cried out in agony. By now I had lost so much blood I was going crazy. I heard voices and saw things that weren't there and I didn't want to see. I was a torture all in itself.

"STOP!" screamed Johanna. "I KNOW! JUST STOP HURTING HER!"

They were using me against her.

Johanna may have claimed that she didn't love anyone, but apparently that wasn't true.

The Head Peacekeeper smiled. "Where?"

"District Thirteen!" she said. What? "It still exists! The only ones who knew were the ones who were trying to get Katniss and Peeta out of the arena! She doesn't know! I do!"

Then she burst into tears.

Johanna Mason, crying.

So it was official.

Johanna had lost hope too.

They stitched me up and threw Johanna and me into the cell. Annie was there, crying her eyes out. She got burned again.

Johanna was crying too. "I'm so sorry Katniss..."

I was crying, but all I felt were the tears streaming down my face as I curled up into a ball and muttered to myself.

"It's over. It's over. It's over."

But it never really ends, does it?

* * *

Weeks passed. Every single day got worse. Some nights they don't bring me back to my cell, they torture me through the night and the next day. Other nights I'm in my cell alone or with either Johanna or Annie. They tell me over and over again that I am a monster and I believed them. They told me I was as good as dead, yet never killed me.

All I wanted to do was die.

And the sick thing is that they knew.

One day, I was laying on the floor of my cell, by myself, stroking my swollen stomach and hoping to bleed to death. But of course I didn't.

The doors clanked open and the Peacekeepers came in. They kicked my back and it felt like it lit on fire.

"Get up" he growled. I pulled myself up and trudged out of the cell. "We're seeing President Snow. He wants to talk to you about doing another interview." My chest tightened.

I remembered what happened after my last interview...

I walked into President Snow's office and sat in the chair. Snow smiled.

"Hello Miss Everdeen."

"Hey" I muttered, pulling my legs up to my chest.

"Now" He clasped his hands together. "I want you to do a second interview. With this one, I want you to tralk to the people in District Thirteen. Tell them that they need to surrender."

I nodded.

"Good" he said. "Go get ready."

I started to walk out the door when Snow stopped me. "And Miss Everdeen," I turned around, "remember what's at stake if you don't do as I order." I nodded and walked out the door.

My Prep Team tried their best, but the makeup didn't hide anything at all. My body was covered with jagged scars and bruises, not to mention that my eyes darted around crazily as I muttered to myself.

I was brought to the back of the stage. When they thought I couldn't hear them, two Peacekeepers started talking.

"We're bombing District Thirteen" one whispered to the other.

"Why? She's about to tell them to surrender" said the other.

"We want to get them by surprise. Make them surrender. Do you think anybody with half a mind is going to listen to that mental girl?" They laughed and walked away.

They're bombing District Thirteen.

They're bombing District Thirteen.

They're bombing District Thirteen.

I didn't care what was at stake. I didn't care about the baby anymore. It didn't deserve to live in a world like this. I had to warn District Thirteen.

I didn't want them to end up like Twelve did.

I was led onto the stage and I sat down next to Caeser. He looked at me uncertainly, but wiped it away and smiled. "Good luck."

"Whatever." I was too busy thinking about what I was going to do.

The camera rolled. "So Katniss" said Caeser. "I hear you have some news for District Thirteen?"

I nodded. "District Thirteen...how do you think this will end? What will be left? Nobody anywhere is safe. Especially..." I took a deep breath. "You in Thirteen... Dead by morning!" I started panicking. "They're coming! The Capitol's bombing-" Just then a Peacekeeper beat me in the back of the head with his club and I fell, crying out in pain.

I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up strapped to a wall by chains. Snow was standing in front of me. By his expression, I could tell he wasn't happy.

"Where did you hear that?" he growled.

"Peacekeepers" I breathed. "Heard them talking about it."

His eyes went dark. "I warned you. And you disobeyed me." I looked down at my stomach.

Then I realized something.

I did want my baby to live.

My baby was the only thing I had left of Peeta. If I lost it, then I lost all I had of Peeta.

"Kill it" said Snow to the Peacekeepers.

"No" I said. They took out a knife. "NO!"

"Shut up!" yelled one of the Peacekeepers. Snow smiled and walked out the door.

"Stop! Please stop!" But they just ignored me. I tried to get out of my chains, but they were too strong. They placed the cold metal blade to my stomach...

And then the gun went off.


	25. CHAOS!

The Peacekeeper dropped to the floor.

Dead.

I looked up and saw that there was a crowd of people wearing uniforms that had the District Thirteen seal on it. They all ran into the room and started shooting at all of the Peacekeepers. More Peacekeepers came into the room and shot guns too.

It was chaotic.

"I got Annie!" shouted someone. They sounded familiar...

"I got Johanna!" said another familiar voice.

"Get Katniss!" said someone else. Again, I could have sworn I knew who they were.

Then I got shot.

I cried out and clenched my eyes shut. The pain was whitehot.

"KATNISS!" yelled someone. I didn't see who, but it sounded so very familiar. I felt the person put a key into the locks on my chains and I collapsed to the floor. The person bent down.

"Stay with me Katniss, stay with me!" said the person with panic. They picked me up and I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry, but when I looked up, I saw a flash of blond hair...

Before I blacked out, I got out one word.

"Always."

**So...**

**What do ya think?**

**Good? Bad? Awkward? No idea wth is happening?**


	26. FINALLY!

I woke up in a hospital.

My whole enitire body hurt and the only thing I could remember was being in an interview...

Then it all came back to me.

I looked down and saw that I was wearing a hospital gown with my chest wrapped heavily with bandages.

But...

Something wasn't right...

Oh no.

No. No no no no no no no NO!

I wasn't pregnant.

I wanted to cry out, but my throat hurt too much. I looked around and saw that I was alone.

Then the door opened.

And Prim walked in.

What?

No, I had to be going insane. Prim was dead. She died. She was gone.

Her eyes widened when she saw me. "Ka-Ka... Katniss?" she asked quietly.

Now I was positive I was insane.

Prim ran out the door. "SHE'S AWAKE!"

"What!?" My mother ran in the room. "Katniss!" She ran over my bed.

"Y-You died" I said. It wasn't a question. They died. "They t-told me you w-were dead."

Rye, Grain, Finnick, and Haymitch burst through the door.

"Y-You guys died. All of you died."

"No, I didn't die" my mother said, getting tears in her eyes. "We're here."

"Where a-am I?" I asked.

Everyone went tense.

"Well..." started Prim. "After the arena exploded, the television went black and we all just sat there. Mother, Rye, Grain and I. Then we felt the ground shake and went outside to see part of the Seam on fire. I didn't know what to do at first, but I knew we had to get everyone out of there. So we got as many people as we could and ran into the woods. A day later, the District Thirteen hovercrafts came and we got the news that you were at the Capitol..." She took a deep breath. "Then last week, they planned the rescue mission. When you came back, they had to take the baby out becasue you got shot."

I brought my legs up to my chest. "Is it okay?" I asked quietly.

My mother smiled. "It's a girl." She stood up. "I'll get her." She walked out of the room.

"Well" said Haymitch after a long pause of awkward silence. "How's life?"

"Fucked up" I said.

"Shitty" said Finnick.

"Hell" said Grain.

"All three" said Rye.

"Not good?" said Prim.

Haymitch nodded and my mother walked through the door holding a bundle. I didn't know why, but I was nervous.

"Here" said my mother quietly. She handed it to me and I didn't see a baby.

I saw an angel.

She opened her eyes and I gasped. They were crystal blue.

Like Peeta...

Everyone was silent. I looked at her and felt like crying. "I wish Peeta was here. He would be happy." I looked up and saw everyone was smiling, even Haymitch, which was freaky. "What?"

"Uh," Rye scratched the back of his head. "He is."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

Finnick sat on the side of my bed and smiled. "When we were picked up by the District Thirteen hovercrafts, they immedeatly started working on Peeta, and they restarted his heart. He was fine after surgery."

What the...

"You're lying" I said. "He died. I was there."

Finnick rolled his eyes, but kept his smile. "So was I. But I can assure you, he's alive." **(A/N Good job Bri P!)**

"Oh my god..." I said.

Grain sighed. "But when he found out you were in the Capitol, he went..."

"Ballistic?" suggested Prim.

"You could say that" said Grain. "And when he saw you on the interviews when you said he was dead, he just freaked out and said that we had to rescue you three. He asked before, but they all said no until we saw your second interview. Finnick, Rye Peeta and I went on the mission to save you. But Peeta got shot and can't leave his bed to see you."

I felt as if a wave of hope washed over me, something I'd been needing for a long time. Peeta may have been hurt, but at least he was alive.

And that is a hell of a lot better than dead.

**YAY! I'VE BEEN WAITING TO DO THAT! :D**

**But, (yes, there's a but D:) don't expect things to stay peachy forever...**


	27. Our Angel

_I was chained to the wall, and watched in horror as Snow took out a knife. Peeta's eyes widened._

_Snow laughed. "Say goodbye to your husband, Miss Everdeen..." He put the blade of the knife up to Peeta's throat..._

I woke up screaming.

I shot up and took in deep breaths of air. I'd only been in Thirteen for a day, and I was already getting nightmares about being back at the Capitol.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in" I gasped. The door opened a little and Prim peaked her head through the crack.

"I have someone you might want to see" said said.

"I don't feel like visitors right now" I said.

She smiled. "I think you'll want to see this one. They really want to see you."

I ran a hand through my loose hair. "Fine, bring them in."

Prim pushed the door open all the way and pushed in someone in a wheelchair.

Peeta.

My heart stopped. His arm was in a sling and his hair was messy, but besides that he seemed fine. But when I looked into his eyes, I saw they were filled with one thing.

Guilt.

"Peeta" I whispered. Prim wheeled him over to my bed and walked out the door.

He didn't look at me. "I'm sorry" he said. "It's all my fault you're hurt."

"Peeta, don't you dare blame yourself for anything" I said. "If you didn't save me in the Quell, then I wouldn't even be here."

He looked at me. "But then you wouldn't have had to go through all that torture! I was being selfish-"

"Peeta!" I said. "You are not selfish. You were willing to do anything for me, even die. And you always will be." I sighed. "If anything, I'm the selfish one. All I wanted to do was die." Tears started brimming my eyes. "All I wanted was to be dead. I didn't even care about our daughter."

Peeta's eyes went from guilty to guiltier. "I-I..."

"Shh" I said. "What's passed is past. What matters is right now." I took his free hand in mine. "I missed you."

He nodded. "I missed you too."

We just sat there for a minute, not wanting to do anything else but be with each other, knowing that the other was there.

Prim walked through the door holding our daughter. "Peeta never got a chance to see her, and I though he might want to." Prim walked over to my bed and handed her to me. She stepped back and Peeta looked at our baby. Prim smiled and walked out the door.

Peeta looked like he just saw an angel. I think he did. "She looks just like you."

I smiled a little. "No. She has your eyes."

Peeta smiled too. "What do you want to name her?"

I thought about that. I didn't have any idea. "I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"

He shook his head. "No."

I sighed and looked at her face. She really was an angel. "I like the name Angel."

Peeta smiled. "That's perfect."

I looked down at her. "Hi Angel" I cooed. She stirred a little and I laughed.

Angel was our, well, angel. She was our miricale. She was our sign of hope in these times of horror. She was our sign that there really was a way to move on.

We may not ever be able to forget the horrors of our past, but we can at least move forward.

And as long as our angel was with us, we knew we could.

**I know this is still all lovey-dovey, but it won't stay like this for long *maniacal laugh***

**The next chapter is still going to be all sweet, but I promise, there will be terror!**


	28. AN

**Hello Guys!**

**Okay, this isn't a chapter, but I spent like the whole day figuring out what is going to happen...**

**Who to kill... *maniacal laugh***

**And let me warn you, it will NOT be pretty! **

**Yeah, so, I ran out of my creative writing juices for the day and might post something later, and if not, definitely tomorrow.**

**Happy Holidays!**

**~wellthen44**


	29. Weddings

It's been several weeks since Annie, Johanna and I have been rescued from the Capitol.

I was as alright as I could be; I still had frequent nightmares, saw heard things that weren't there, and my whole body was aching. But Peeta was there, alive, to help me through it all, and that was all I needed.

One day, Prim walked into my room, wheeling in an empty wheelchair. "The doctor says you are allowed to get out of bed, but you have to use this."

"Good" I said. "I don't think I can stand."

I sat up and Prim helped me into the wheelchair. I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time in months. And let me tell you, I looked so much better. Yeah, I still looked like I just came out of a blender, but it was a lot better.

Prim handed me a grey shirt and grey pants to put on. I took off my hospital gown and pulled them on. Then she wheeled me out of the room and into the hall. A lot of the people turned around to take a look at me, but I couldn't care less. Everyone knew who I was and what I went through; it was nothing new.

We went to the cafeteria and I got to see it for the first time. Everyone was wearing the grey uniforms, but I could still make out the people from Twelve. I recognized most of them from the Seam, but that doesn't surprise me; that's what most of Twelve is made up of.

Well, what it _was _made up of.

After we got our food, Prim wheeled me over to the table that had Finnick, Annie, Peeta, Rye, Grain and Johanna were sitting at.

"Kitten!" said Rye.

"Well, look who finally came out of bed" Grain said.

Peeta smiled. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"The doctor wouldn't let me out until today" I said.

"Well, I'm glad you're here" said Finnick. "Because Annie and I have some news."

"Well, get on with it!" said Johanna, taking a sip of her water.

"Alright" he said. He took a deep breath and looked at Annie. "We're getting married."

Johanna spit her water out all over my food. I pushed my plate away. "You're WHAT!?" she screamed.

Annie smiled. "We're getting married" she repeated.

"Congratulations!" I said. "When's the wedding?"

"Well, Plutarch wants us to do it as soon as possible" said Finnick. "Which is fine by us." He smiled. "And Peeta, we want you to make the cake."

"Really?" he asked.

Annie nodded. "Yes."

Peeta smiled. "Alright."

When everyone finished eating, I was about to leave and visit Angel when Peeta stopped me.

"Coin said she wanted to see you after breakfast" he said.

"Coin?" I asked.

"She's the president of Thirteen." He sighed. "But, she just... creeps me out."

I smiled. "I'll be careful."

He smiled and kissed my forhead. "I'll be in Command" he said.

I wheeled out of the cafeteria and within a few minutes, I was able to find my way to her office. I knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" said a voice I didn't recognize.

"Katniss Everdeen" I said.

"Ah, yes, come in." I pushed open the door and wheeled myself in. I saw a woman with grey hair and steel eyes. I could see why Peeta was freaked out by her.

"I was told you wanted to talk to me?" I said.

"Right, I wanted to talk to you about matters concerning the war."

"What matters?"

"I want you to be the Mockingjay."

"The what?"

She sighed. "The Mockingjay. I want you to be the symbol of the rebellion. You know, shoot propoganda, visit Districts, go into combat, all sorts of things to keep people hopeful."

I took a deep breath. "I will, on one condition."

"And what is that?"

"I kill Snow."

She smiled. "Deal."

* * *

"You _what_!?" asked Peeta.

"I agreed to be Mockingjay" I said. I had just come back from Coin's office and told Peeta I agreed to be Mockingjay, and he wasn't happy about it.

"Katniss, do you realize how dangerous this could be?" He ran a hand through his hair. "You-You can't even walk!"

I sighed. "I know how dangerous this is, and I am very well aware of the state I am in. But, I can help this war actually get somewhere."

Peeta sat in one of the chairs and looked at the floor. "I'm just afraid... I can't... I can't lose you again..."

I wheeled myself over to him and took his hand in mine. "You can never lose me. Because I'll always be with you."

* * *

A month passed and I was able to walk again. After a whole lot of persuasion, Plutarch finally convinced Peeta and I to get married on the same day as Finnick and Annie. Even though it felt like we were already married, it wasn't official, so we were having some sort of double wedding to make it official. When we told Finnick and Annie, they were really happy and Annie said we could have matching wedding dresses.

Yay.

Peeta had been working on the wedding cakes, but since he was making two, he let Rye and Grain help him after they begged and begged. I have to admitt, it was pretty adorable watching them plead up to him on their knees while he just stood over them.

Anyway, Peeta wouldn't let me see the cakes. He insists on keeping them a surprise, but I think he just wanted to tick me off; he knew how much I hated surprises.

When it was time for the wedding, no one showed me my dress because it was supposed to be a surprise. Again, I hated surprises. Prim and my mother walked into my room with a large bag.

"This has your dress in it" Prim said. "I think you'll love it."

"Close your eyes" my mother said. I reluctantly did as she told and I felt them slip the dress up my body. Then they fixed up my hair and did some makeup.

"You can open them" said Prim quietly. I opened my eyes, looked in the mirror, and gasped.

I looked... beautiful. Something I hadn't looked in a long time.

My dress was bright yellow with a layer of lace covering it and sleeves that hung off my shoulders. My hair was put in a braid down my shoulder and tied together with a yellow ribbon. My face was lightly done with makeup, giving me a look of natural beauty. And even though my skin still had scars, it didn't matter.

The dress could only have been made by one person.

"Cinna made this, didn't he?" I asked. Prim nodded.

"It was designed just for you."

Tears filled my eyes as I looked in the mirror. "No crying" my mother said. "Your makeup will run."

I smiled. "Thank you" I said. I turned to Prim. "You better get changed."

She nodded and walked out the door with my mother. I sighed and sat in the chair just as Johanna and Annie walked in. Annie was wearing the same exact dress as me, except in sea green. And her red hair was put into a low bun. At least we weren't completely matching.

Johanna was wearing a yellow dress that was floor length and short sleeved. Even though it was so simple, it made her look beautiful.

"You look beautiful" said Johanna.

I smoothed my hand over the lace. "So do you" I said. "Both of you."

Annie blushed. "Thank you."

Prim walked in and I saw she was wearing the same thing as Johanna, except to fit her thirteen year-old body and it was blue.

"You look beautiful Prim" I said. She smiled.

"C'mon. The wedding's about to start" she said. The way it was going to work was Annie and Finnick were going to have their wedding first, then Peeta and I.

The four of us walked until we reached the closed double doors where Rye and Grain were waiting. Rye was wearing a blue tuxedo and Grain was wearing a green one. Grain whistled at Johanna and she slapped him in the face and kicked him in the shin. Typical Johanna.

Annie was pale and fidgety. Johanna handed her a boquet of red roses. She knew better then to clutch them and get thorns stuck in her hands, but she was obviously nervous.

"Hey" I said. "There's nothing to be nervous about. You both love each other. This should be the happiest day of your life." She seemed to relax and she smiled. She took a deep breath and the doors opened. Johanna walked out first, then Grain, then Prim, then Rye, and then Annie. I waited in the back and watched the wedding.

It was beautiful. Annie and Finnick were both clearly in love with each other. They said their vows with so much love and by the time they kissed, I had to use all my willpower not to cry.

Annie and Finnick stood off to the side and Peeta stood in Finnick's place. It was my turn.

I clutched my primroses and slowly walked down the aisle. Peeta had the biggest grin on his face. He was wearing a blue tuxedo to match his eyes. But even the bluest blue couldn't match his eyes.

I reached the end of the aisle and grabbed Peeta's hand. We turned to the official who started the ceremony. It went by fairly quickly. Then we got to the vows and we turned to each other.

"Katniss" said Peeta. "I love you more than anything and will always love you. Iam willing to do anything to keep you safe, even if it means having to take my own life."

"Peeta" I said. "I am so glad to have met you. If we never met, then I wouldn't be standing here today. I'm so lucky to have you."

When the rings came, I put a golden ring on his finger and he put a ring on my finger that had the pearl he gave to me at the beach on it. I gasped. I thought I'd lost it.

"You may now kiss the bride" said the District Thriteen official. Peeta pulled me into a long kiss and the crowd cheered. We broke apart and I looked into the front row to saw my mother holding Angel with tears in her eyes. Prim, Annie and Johanna were clapping and Finnick, Rye and Grain were whooping and throwing their hands in the air. Haymitch was standing off to the side with a small smile of approval on his face.

And I realized that it wasn't just the happiest day of Annie's life, but the happiest day of mine.

**Awwwwwwwww, is anyone else feeling all lovey like right now?**

**Yeah, well, don't get used to it.**

**Next chapter will get bloody!**


	30. Johanna Mellark

When people were finally done congratulating Annie and Finnick and Peeta and I, we all sat down at the tables. I sat in between Prim and Peeta and Prim gave me the biggest hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" she said. I laughed.

I smiled. "Thanks, and you're wrinkling my dress." She let go and smoothed it out. I looked at Peeta and saw he was staring at me. "What're _you _looking at?"

"You look beautiful."

I don't know why, but I suddenly remembered the Opening Ceremony of our first Hunger Games, when I caught him looking at me and he said I was beautiful...

_No. This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life._

_Don't think about that._

Just then the doors of the kitchen opened and they wheeled out the wedding cakes. Everyone gasped. They were gorgeous.

You could obviously tell which cake was made for who. One was blue-green with sail boats and waves and fish, iced all over it. The other had yellow, orange, and red flames licking up the sides to the top where a small icing sculpture of a mockingjay sat.

"Peeta, those look amazing!" I said. He smiled.

"Hey, we helped!" said Rye. I scowled at him and he slouched back in his seat.

The cake was served and half the room ate the ocean cake and the other half ate the mockingjay one. I took a small bite of the mockingjay cake and I almost gaged on all the flavor.

"This is so good" I said. Peeta laughed.

"Why thank you" he said. When I finished, I walked over to my mother and Angel.

Angel was growing up too fast. She was only two months old, and she was already giggling and smiling at everything.

"I'm so happy for you" my mother said.

I smiled. "This is the happiest day of my life" I said. I looked at Angel. "Hi baby" I cooed. She laughed.

I took her into my arms and she started grabbing at my yellow dress. I laughed and Peeta came over to us.

"Hi Angel" he said. She laughed again. It never got old.

Johanna walked over to us. She had a smirk on her face. "You aren't going to let Snow miss the chance to see you dancing, right?" She pointed to the cameras recording the wedding.

I suddenly got an idea. I grinned stupidly. "Okay, we'll dance, but only if you dance."

Her smirk faltered. "With who?" she asked cautiously.

"Grain." Peeta burst out laughing and Johanna got the most horrified look on her face.

"But you... But he's... NO!"

I shrugged while trying to surpress a laugh. We both looked over at Grain who was annoying the crap out of Haymitch.

Johanna sighed in defeat and walked over to where Grain was standing next to Haymitch who was repeatedly banging his head on the wall.

Peeta regained his maturity and we both watched as Johanna talked to Grain with a disgusted look on her face. Grain's face lit up and he pulled her into a huge hug. She slapped him on the back of the head, but he still wouldn't let go.

Peeta and I started laughing. Angel looked at us curiously and I smiled. "It looks like you might be getting a new Aunt" I said. Peeta's face went from happy to fake terrified.

"Johanna... our sister..." We looked back at Johanna who was slowly inching away from Grain as he inched closer to her. We started laughing again.

"I can't believe she actually did that!" I said.

"Well," said Peeta, "we have to keep up our end of the deal too."

I smiled, gave Angel to my mother, and we headed to the dance floor. The District Twelve people were teaching the District Thirteen people how to dance. We might have been the poorest District, but we still knew how to dance.

We had a ball. People were cheering and clapping and Peeta and I got our own special dance.

After an hour, I needed to take a break and Peeta went over to talk to Finnick. Prim walked up to me with a quizzical look on her face.

"Why is Johanna dancing with Grain?" I started laughing.

"I told her I wouldn't dance unless she danced with Grain." Prim's eyes widened.

"And she went through with it?" We both looked at Johanna who was clenching her jaw as Grain danced with her.

"I didn't expect her to!" I said. "I guess Johanna doesn't turn down a challenge."

Prim smiled. "You're so cruel." We looked at Johanna and Grain. Grain whispered something in her ear and she... no...

"Did she just..." Prim asked.

"She did" I said. "Johanna Mason laughed at something Grain said."

"Oh my god..." said Prim. I shuddered. Yep, looked like Angel was getting a new Aunt.

The happiest day of my life just turned into the weirdest.

**I lied. There wasn't any blood this chapter. I just wanted to freak you out :P**

**Blood next chapter, promise!**


	31. District Eight

Two weeks have passed since the weddings, and it was time to get down to business.

Me.

We were going to District Eight. Haymitch said it would make good footage to have me in the middle of the battlefield, giving the Capitol a piece of my mind. Coin said to send me to Eight because there was a boimbing there that morning, and the film crew should get some footage of me with the wounded. I agreed to go.

To keep me armed, Beetee made me bows that explode when they hit it's target. They also react to my voice, so if I say hello, it would turn on and buzz. If I said goodnight, it would turn off. I thanked Beetee so much.

So there we were, Boggs, Haymitch, Messalla, Cressida, the body guards, Peeta and I, waiting to get to Eight.

I was wearing a combat outfit that Cinna had made for me. Plutarch said it was called my Mockingjay suit. There was a small pocket on my arm that held a Nightlock pill, a pill that when consumed caused an immedeate and painless death. Everyone had one.

None of us could afford to be captured.

The hovercraft landed and Boggs, Messalla, Cressida, two body guards, Peeta and I got out. Haymitch was staying in so he could give me orders through my earpiece.

"Do exactly as I say" he said. "Or we're all dead."

I nodded and we backed away as the hovercraft took off again. I turned around and saw a woman not much older than me.

"Katniss," Boggs said, "this is Commander Paylor, the Commander of Eight."

"I'm Katniss" I said.

"Oh, I know who you are" she said. "We weren't sure if you were alive or not."

"I'm not so sure myself" I muttered. Peeta held my hand.

Paylor pointed to a warehouse in the distance. "That's where we're keeping the wounded."

"There?" I asked. It wasn't very big.

She sighed. "It's not the best, but it's better than leaving them out here to die. Let's go."

Cressida and Messalla held the cameras as Peeta and I walked to the building. When we reached the door, I gripped Peeta's hand.

"Don't let go" I said.

"I wasn't planning to" he said. We walked through the curtain.

Horror. That's all there was.

The stench of death, the wails of pain, the scene of blood, the heat of the close bodies, just... horrific.

I clenched Peeta's hand tighter than ever as I walked through the rows of beds.

"Katniss?" a voice croaked out. I looked down and saw a girl, a little younger than me, with a leg heavily wrapped in bandages. "Is it really you?"

I knelt down next to her. "Yes, it's me."

"I-I thought you were dead!" she said. I smiled.

"No, I'm not."

She smiled and looked at Peeta. "You're my heros."

I smiled at her and stood up. More and more people saw me and I got to as many as I could. They all told me how I was their role model, why because of me, they haven't given up.

When we walked out, I took in a deep breath of fresh air. "I'm surprised I'm still standing."

Peeta smiled. "That was great. All those people look up to you."

Cressida and Messalla walked up to me. "Fantastic!" Cressida said. "We got great footage."

"I didn't do anything" I said.

"Exactly. You were yourself. That's what the people want to see." Boggs handed me a canteen and I drank from it thirstily. I suddenly rememered my earpiece. I hadn't heard from Haymitch yet. Maybe it was broken.

"We're going" said Boggs. "Immedeatly."

"Why?" asked Peeta.

"Incoming bombers." He reached behind my head and pulled Cinna's helmet over my head. "Let's move!"

Confused with what was happening, I grabbed Peeta's hand and we ran back to the alley where the airstrip was. Then I saw the Capitol hovercrafts, flying above us in a V formation.

Then the bombs were dropped.

I was blown off my feet and into the front wall of the warehouse. I tried to get up, but my fake leg was broken and couldn't support me. Then I heard Haymitch through the earpiece.

"Katniss!"

"I'm here!"

"Don't panic. We can't land during the bombing, and it's crutcial you aren't spotted."

"Wait, they're not after me?"

"No. It looks like this was already planned. There's a light blue warehouse down the street with a bunker. Can you get there?"

"I can't put weight on my leg."

"Hold on." He typed something in a computer, then he spoke again. "Katniss can't walk. " He was talking to everyone. "Can anybody see her?"

"I see her!" said Boggs. Out of the smoke, I saw Boggs running towards me. He picked me up and ran towards the light blue warehouse. I looked behind us and saw Peeta, the body guards, and the camera crew following us. They looked alright, but I couldn't be sure.

We ran into the warehouse and into the bunker. "Do you think they saw me?" I asked.

Peeta crawled over to me and looked at my fake leg. "It's fixable. You just-" He snapped a metal piece back into place. "There. Good as new." He sat back. "I don't think they're targeting you, but something else."

"What else is there to target? The only thing-" Peeta and I looked at each other. "You don't think..."

"They're targeting the hospital" Boggs said. "And there's nothing we can do."

"Yes there-" I started. Just then, I heard the sound of machine guns firing from the top of one of the warehouses. And someone was firing back.

"Katniss," said Haymitch in my earpiece, "don't-" I yanked the earpiece out of my ear and ran out of the warehouse. I heard people screaming after me, but I kept running forward. I climbed up the ladder and get into a nest with a bunch of other soldiers.

"Boggs know you're here?" I turn to see Paylor looking at me quizzically.

"He sure does" I said.

She laughed. "Do you know how to use these?" She pointed to her gun.

"No, but I have my own weapon." I pulled out my arrows.

The next wave of hovercrafts came. I pulled an arrow out of my sheath and shot one at a hovercraft that was above me. It exploded, causing most of the others around it to explode as well.

"Nice shot" said Paylor, admiring the flaming hovercrafts.

"Thanks" I breathed.

The next wave came and I did the same thing, hitting one and causing the rest to explode. But this time, something else happened.

"That's it" Paylor said.

"Did they hit the hospital?" I asked frantically.

"Must have" she said sadly. I ran to the edge and sure enough, saw the hospital in flames.

NO!

I scrambled down the ladder. The roof had collapsed. People were trying to get into the building, make a path, but it was no use. If the fire or debris didn't kill the patients, then the smoke did.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw it was Peeta. Saddness had filled his eyes. Boggs, the body guards, and the camera crew were behind us.

"Katniss," said Cressida, getting the camera ready, "President Snow just had the

bombing aired live. Then he made an appearance to say that this was his way of sending a message to the rebels. Would you like to tell the rebels anything?"

"I want to tell the rebels that I am alive. That I'm here, in District Eight, where the Capitol has just bombed a hospital full of unarmed men, women, and children. There will be no survivors." I took a deep breath. "President Snow says he's sending us a message? Well, I have one for him. You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that?" One of the cameras follows as I point to the burning planes on the warehouse. "Fire is catching!" I scream. "And if we burn, you burn with us!"

**Ohhhh snap!**

**Is anyone else thing that right now? Yes? No? Forget it.**

**I honestly didn't plan to do this chapter like this, but then I remembered that I had to fit Katniss visiting the Districts someplace, and this seemed like the opportunity so...**

**Anyway, next chapter is gonna be the visit to D12!**

**And it's ****not**** gonna be pretty...**


	32. A Very Interesting Conversation

After our battle in Eight, they were able to land the hovercraft and get us out of there. Haymitch was pretty pissed off at me, but he said that one more mess up and he would tell Coin I disobeyed orders. I promised him I wouldn't do that again.

"So" said Finnick, taking a bit from his roll, "Annie and I have more news."

"What?" I asked. Johanna took a sip from her water.

"We're having a baby." I tried to push my food out of the way, but Johanna still managed to spit her water out all over my food. I glarred at her, but she ignored me.

"You're WHAT!?" she screamed. I sighed.

"I'm pregnant" Annie said quietly.

"Good for you" said Grain, slapping Finnick on the back. "It looks like my brother isn't the only one who can knock a girl up." Johanna's eyes widened, Rye grinned, Annie looked at him like he was a weirdo, Prim just shook her head, I face palmed and Peeta banged his head on the table while Finnick looked at Grain like he was a ghost.

"I can't believe you made me dance with that asshole" Johanna muttered to me.

"Are you serious?" Finnick asked Grain.

"Yep" Grain replied, taking a sip of his water without breaking his gaze with Finnick. "And I was beginning to get worried that he really was the only one." Johanna's eye twitched.

"I'm done" I said, standing. "Anyone else?"

"Me" said Peeta, taking his head off the table.

"Me too" said Prim.

"I'm coming" said Annie.

"I'm going" said Johanna.

"Count me in" said Finnick, not taking his eyes off Grain.

"Yeah, I better come with you guys" said Rye with a smile on his face.

"Nah, I think I should stay here" said Grain. "Or Peeta will beat me up."

I looked at Peeta who had his fists clenched and turned to Grain. "You might wanna sleep with your eyes open."

My feet crunched as I walked through the ashes.

Three months had passed after that very 'interesting' meal, and Peeta, Grain, Rye and I were allowed to visit District Twelve. Cressida and her camera crew wanted to film me and Peeta at our old hunting spot and ask us about our life before the Hunger Games.

I stood in the ahses that used to be my old house. I crouched down and touched them. They were cold. I picked up and handful, stood up, and sprinkled the ashes. They softly blew in the wind, flying away to freedom.

I turned and walked away to where Peeta was standing. He was in the ashes of the bakery. I remembered that day when I told Peeta that there was the wedding photo shoot...

"I remember the night that I heard they announced the Quarter Quell" he said softly, without turning to see me. "I came downstairs and saw that Rye and Grain were just staring at the blank television. I asked them what they were ooking at, and Grain said you were going back..." He shuddered. "I ran here, trying to sort out what to do, what to say, and I knew that I was going to die to save you." He laughed a little. "And my mother came downstairs. She crying." He paused. "The first time I ever saw her cry. She knew I was going to die." He turned to me. "She loved me." He looked at the ground. "And for the first time, I realized I loved her. I can't believe it took me that long to realize it."

I knew that Peeta was hurting from the death of his parents. It hurt me too. But he didn't say anything about it until then.

There was a long pause of silence in between us. I didn't know what to say to him. I don't think any words could have possibly helped him.

"Cut!" said Cressida. We both looked at her and I saw the whole camera crew was looking at Peeta and I.

"I didn't know you were filming" Peeta said quietly.

"Oh, we were" said Messalla. "And that was absolutely beautiful."

I turned and saw Grain and Rye were staring at us with saddness in their eyes. I walked over to them and gave them a hug. Sure, they could be real jerks sometimes, but that doesn't make them heartless.

We walked away from the town and went to the Victors Village, the only thing the Capitol didn't bother blowing up. I slowly walked into my house and looked around. It didn't change at all.

I ran my ash covered hand over the white walls, leaving black streak marks. Oh well.

I walked up the stairs and decided to get a few things for my mother and Prim. I got our family plant book for Prim and my mother's wedding photo for her. I took one last look around the house, and walked out.

We all walked away from the Victor's Village and into the woods. I walked over to the tree where I kept my bow and arrows and was surprised to find them there. I pulled them out and saw Peeta found his too. I smiled.

We walked over to our old hunting spot. It brought back so many memories...

Peeta and I sat down on our log and Cressida asked us some questions. We talked about our funny moments, scary moments, sad moments, and happy moments from hunting. And for six years of memories, there were a lot.

It felt funny, as if we never were in the Hunger Games; like we were just two best friends hanging out.

And, it was peaceful for a change.

**Well, I think we can accomplish Grain as a very interesting person, don't ya think?**

**And he only gets weirder *shakes head***

**Anyway, I know there was no blood, but again, I had a change of plans. I know, I should just stop changing my mind and get onto killing people, but I have big dreams for this story *looks off into the distance* Big dreams...**

**Later :P**


	33. Love Story

A few months passed after we made our visit to District Twelve. Annie was doing great with her pregnancy, and I was there to help her since I knew what it was like.

And everyday, every meal, Grain had this extremely sad habbit of asking Johanna to marry him.

"So, will you marry me?" he casually asked one day as he ate another spoonful of grain.

"Go to hell" she muttered, stabbing her fork into her meat.

Prim shook her head sadly. "It'll never work Grain."

He shrugged. "I've got nothing to lose."

"You could lose a limb" Finnick pointed out. "Especially at breakfast. Johanna isn't a morning person."

And he asked her. Everyday. Every meal. For two more months.

And it annoyed the crap out of me. And it didn't only annoy me, that's for sure.

"Marry me?" he asked, AGAIN.

I wanted to slap him so bad, but Rye beat me to it. "Open your eyes! It's no use!"

Johanna rolled her eyes. "Fine."

I swear, everyone stopped breathing.

"What... did... how..." Finnick asked.

"Are you feeling okay?" Peeta asked her.

Grain just looked at Johanna with no expression on his face. Johanna just kept eating her food, then pushed her plate away and stood up. She started walking towrds the door and I followed her.

"Johanna?" I asked.

Johanna just kept walking towards her room and she reached the door, but didn't open it.

"Go away" she muttered. "I'm tired." She opened the door and slammed it in my face. I opened the door and Johanna turned to look at me.

"Johanna" I said. She sighed.

"Go away" she muttered.

"I just have one question" I said.

She groaned. "What?"

"Do you like Grain?"

She looked down. "Maybe."

I smiled. "Good night Johanna." I walked out and closed the door, but not hearing a book get thrown across the room in my direction.

I walked back into the cafeteria and Grain ran up to me. "What'd she say?" he asked.

I leaned closer to his ear. "She likes you" I whispered.

His eyes widened. "Are you serious?" he asked. I nodded and ran out the door.

I sighed and sat back at the table. Everyone looked at me, as if expecting me to say something.

"Is Johanna okay?" Peeta asked. I sighed.

"Not really" I said. "But I guess anybody who likes Grain isn't doing very well."

Rye dropped his fork and it clattered on the ground. "Johanna..."

"Yes" I said. "Johanna likes him."

Annie gasped, Finnick snorted, Peeta smiled, Rye rubbed his temples, and Prim's eyes widened.

Grain walked back into the cafeteria with a dazed look on his face. Peeta tried snapping his fingers in front of his face, but it didn't faze him.

"Uh, Grain?" he asked. Grain blinked and looked at Peeta.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"What happened?" Peeta asked slowly.

"She... She..." He sighed.

"She what?" Peeta asked.

"She kissed me."

**Johanna and Grain, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G**

**There WILL be blood next chapter, I SWEAR**

**I just felt like I had to do this, get in some fun before the terror :P**


	34. PEACEKEEPERS!

I woke up to a pounding on the door.

Peeta and I shot up in bed. It was chaos outside our door; screaming and crying and guns going off. I ran out of bed and opened the door to see a frantic Johanna trying to catch her breath. Behind her, people were running down the hall.

"What's going on!?" I screamed over all the chaos.

"Peacekeepers!" she screamed. "Hundreds of them!" Peeta ran up next to me with Angel in his arms. "We need to get to the bunkers!"

She grabbed my hand and we ran through the halls, trying desperately to get to the bunkers. Peeta was right behind me and I grabbed his free hand.

Then Johanna got shot.

She fell down and screamed. I bent down next to her. "Peeta, get Angel to the bunkers!" I screamed.

"No, I'll stay, you take her!" he screamed.

"Just go!" I screamed. He took one look at me, then he ran off. I helped Johanna to her feet and saw she was only shot in the arm. At least it didn't hit anything vital.

Johanna and I ran down the hall, her clutching her arm, and we got to the stairs. I tried to look around for someone I knew, but I didn't see anybody.

We ran down the stairs and got to the bunkers. Johanna got a good look at her arm while I looked around to see if anyone I knew made it there.

"KATNISS!" someone screamed. I turned to see Prim, my mother and Rye running towards me. "What happened to Johanna?" Prim asked.

"She got shot" I said. I looked at Johanna's arm and saw it was bleeding heavily. My mother opened her medic kit and put a bandage around it. While she did that, I turned to Rye.

"Where's Peeta!?" I asked.

"I-I don't know!" he said. "I tried to find him, but there was so much happening, I couldn't!"

I ran a hand over my braid. They could've been dead for all I knew.

"Into the bunkers!" one of the District Thirteen guards shouted. I tried to look around, but people were pushing towards the bunker entrances and I had to go in one.

Prim, my mother, Johanna, and Rye all sat down, but I kept standing, trying to find someone, anyone.

Then I saw Finnick.

He ran up to me. "Did you see Annie!?" he yelled.

"No!" I said. "The only ones I have are Johanna, my mother, Prim and Rye!"

He ran a hand through his hair. "This can't be happening..."

Haymitch ran into our bunker. "They're closing the door."

"What? No!" I said. "People are still out there!"

He sighed. "There's nothing I can do. And they're probably dead or dying."

I walked up to him. "Grain, Annie, Peeta and my baby are still out there" I said through gritted teeth. "We're waiting."

Saddness filled Haymitch's eyes. "There's nothing I can do. The Peacekeepers haven't made it in here yet and we need to keep it that way. It's more important you stay safe."

"I don't care about my safety!" I screamed. "We need to wait for them!"

But I already heard the large metal door close shut.

"NO!" I screamed. I ran out of my bunker but Haymitch pulled me back. I sat in the middle of the floor and put my face in my hands. But I didn't cry, I was too overcome with fear to do so.

No one spoke for the rest of the night. We just listened hour after hour as the screams and gun fires died down to a painful silence. Then we heard the Peacekeepers hustle out of the District, get on their hovercrafts, and take off.

Coin's voice came over the intercome. "It is safe for everyone to get out of their bunkers." I just kept my head in my hands. Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see it was Prim with tears in her eyes.

"C'mon" she said. "Let's go."

I shakily stood up and the seven of us walked out of the bunker in silence. The metal doors clanked open and I braced myself for what I was about to see.

Bodies. Everywhere. Scattered all over the floors and in piles. Half of the District must have been there. And then there was the moaning of the dying. It was worse than silence.

People ran out to help the wounded. Johanna gripped my hand and together we carefully stepped over the dead. The walls had blood splattered on them and doors were hanging off their hinges. I looked around to see a familiar face, but I didn't see one.

Then I heard someone whisper my name.

"Katniss" someone whispered. "Katniss."

I looked around, but didn't see anybody. Then Johanna gasped and pointed to a broken door. I walked over to it, pushed it aside, and gasped.

It was Grain.

Alive.

He took in a deep breath of air. I looked at him and saw he was shot in the shoulder. "Hey" he whispered.

Prim ran over to us. She gasped when she saw Grain and bent down with her medic kit.

I kneeled down next to him. "What happened?" I asked.

"Well, I was running to the bunkers when I saw Peeta and Angel. I started running over to them when Peeta got shot and a Peackeeper took Angel. Then I was shot and ended up here."

I sat back on my heels. "So, Peeta's shot... and Angel's... in the Capitol?"

Grain nodded. "But I don't think he's dead. He's over there somewhere." He pointed down the hall.

"Thanks" I said. I stood up and looked around the hall to see if Peeta was there, but I didn't see him.

"Katniss!" Finnick called. I looked at him and saw he was kneeling next to someone. I walked over to him and gasped.

He was kneeling over Annie's dead body.

***Cough cough sniffle* Sorry guys, I have a cold. And yeah, sorry for such a sad turn in events.**

**Recap: Annie died, Angel's captured, and we don't know where Peeta is.**

**Well, I do, but you'll just have to wait and find out :)**


	35. Rescue and Assassination

We couldn't find Peeta.

We searched through all of the bodies and patients, but he just wasn't there. I was panicking more than I had ever in my life. That was the time I needed him the most.

"Katniss" Rye said. I looked at him. "Do you maybe think Peeta's... in the... Capitol?"

My heart stopped.

He couldn't be...

But that was the only logical explanation.

"Oh my god..." I said. "He has to be..."

Peeta and Angel were in the Capitol.

This couldn't be happening...

But it was.

I had trouble breathing. I leaned against the wall and clenched my eyes shut. They didn't understand how horrible that place was. They had an idea, but they didn't experience the torture Johanna, Annie and I did. They could've been dead..

"Katniss" Prim said quietly. I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me with concern written all over her face.

"Peeta and Angel are in the Capitol..." I whispered. Prim nodded.

"Rye told me." She pulled me into a hug. "They'll be alright."

"The Capitol's worse than humanly imaginable" I said shakily.

Prim sighed. "They wouldn't kill them."

"How do you know?"

"They'd do whatever it takes to break you."

I scoffed. "I'm already broken Prim. I was a long time ago."

* * *

We were going to rescue them.

Finnick, Rye, Johanna, Grain, our squad, the camera crew and I, we're rescuing Peeta and Angel. And while we're at it, I was gonna kill Snow.

Once and for all.

And, I knew it wouldn't be easy. I mean, how could it?

But I didn't expect the journey to the Capitol to be as bad as being tortured in it.

**Hello fellow readers! I know, this chapter was short and depressing, but I want you to know that I figured out exactly what is going to happen, and you might want to get a nightlight and a box of tissues (he he he...)**

**Happy Reading!**


	36. Broken Lovers

Squad 451.

That's our squad number.

Besides Johanna, Grain, Rye, Finnick and I, there are six others. Boggs, of course, two middle aged men named Homes and Mitchell, two sisters we called Leeg 1 and Leeg 2, and Boggs's second in command, Jackson. Then there is the camera crew to record our every movement.

We had been traveling for three days. It was tiring, but I was more than determined. I had to get them back. And I had to kill Snow.

I ignored everyone who tried to talk to me. My mind was focused on getting them back and killing Snow. That's all I cared about.

Every night, I would be woken by a horrifying nightmare and Peeta wouldn't be there to help me through it. But I had gotten used to that after my several months of torture in the Capitol. But that didn't make me immune to their terror. Every time I tried to go back to sleep, even close my eyes, I would relive my scariest moments. I'd feel the jaws of the wolf mutts as they bit into me, hear the wails of the jabberjays as they screamed over my own wails, watch Annie helplessly cry for Finnick, hear Wiress go silent as the mutt ripped its claws into her throat, sing little Rue to sleep, scream as the old man from District Eleven got shot, seeing Effie's eyes fill up with honest tears, bleed half to death as Johanna cried, pound on the glass as Cinna got beaten, knowing that I got a prosthetic leg, shoot arrows at the hovercrafts and only have them land on the hospital we were trying to save, Beetee's wire snapping, feel Cato throw the knife into my back, run away from the poisonous fog that would soon take Mags, hearing Lotus cry out as her hand engulfed in flames, cry as Peeta bled to death to save Angel and I's life...

So I would just lay on my back and stare at the ceiling of my tent, fiddling with the pearl on my wedding ring, remembering all the good time I'd hadto help me fall asleep. Twirling in Cinna's beautiful fire dress, rejoicing after Peeta came back to life from hitting the forcefield, feeling Prim's arms wrap around me after my torturous Victory Tour, laughing at Johanna and Grain, Finnick asking me if I wanted a sugar cube, looking into the hopeful eyes of the wounded in Eight, Peeta and I doing our toasting, the relief washing over me as Thresh gave me the chance to live, Peeta and I having our special day on top of the roof, Annie and Finnick telling their vows to each other, finding Peeta in the cave, being thankful to Haymitch for promising to keep Peeta safe, Madge giving me the mockingjay pin, Peeta confessing his love for me in the Interviews and beginning our romance, knowing that Annie and Johanna hadn't given up yet, the satisfaction of shooting the arrow into the pig's apple, Beetee coming up with his master plan that could've got me one step closer to saving Peeta, holding Angel for the first time, Peeta and I sharing our hope, love and courage filled first kiss, becoming best friends with Peeta...

But you have to realize that most of the best moments in my life have dissolved, never to happen again, of involved Peeta.

So on the third night, when I had another nightmare about Peeta dying again, I gave up trying. I needed fresh air, so I opened my tent flap and saw Finnick, sitting on a log, tying, retying and untying a small rope. I walked out of the tent and sat next to him. He didn't look up, he just kept tying, retying, and untying.

"This keeps them off my mind" he muttered.

I didn't need to ask who he was talking about. He was talking about Annie and the baby.

"I can't help but feel that I could've saved them. But... I lost her and..."

"Finnick" I said. "There was nothing you could've done. I was there, I know how chaotic it was. Nearly half the District died from so many different ways. Annie just happened to be apart of that half." I looked down. "And now Peeta and my baby are in that living hell..." He looked up, but I just ignored it. "You can try to imagine how horrible it is, all you want, and you won't even come close to how it really is."

Finnick stayed silent and continued with tying, retying, and untying his rope. He suddenly stopped and ripped the rope in half. He held out one half to me. "This'll help." I smiled sadly and the two of us silently tied, retied, and untied our ropes until the sun peaked over the trees.

* * *

The next day, Leeg 2 accidentally bumped into a mislabeled pod and set loose a sunburst of metal darts. One found her brain and killed her instantly. I tried to sleep that night, but every time I close my eyes, I see Leeg 2's yellow specked, cold and dead open eyes. And then they change. I see Cinna's gold eyeliner streaked eyes, Wiress's hazel eyes, Annie's green eyes, Rue's brown eyes and Prim, Angel and Peeta's crystal blue ones. All of them as cold and dead as possible.

I gave up on sleeping and looked at the dark ceiling of my tent. Then I heard voices.

"But it's just... I don't know. I'm still getting used to it." I knew that voice, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Getting used to what?" I knew that voice too, but again, couldn't place it.

"To loving." I climbed out of my sleeping bag, quietly unzipped the tent flap, and saw Johanna and Grain talking in the moonlight. "It makes me feel vulnerable."

"Love isn't a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength, that even in these hard times, love can last." Wow. I never thought I'd see the day to hear Grain say something wise.

Johanna smiled slightly and looked up at the moon. "That's what Brainless said in the Capitol. I guess she isn't so brainless." Wow. And I never thought I'd see the day that Johanna would compliment me.

"She's right" Grain said. "Don't be afraid of love."

She looked back at him, her smile gone. "But look what happened Grain. I learned to love Annie, and now she and her baby are rotting in a casket. I learned to love Peeta and Angel, and now they're rotting in hell. And I learned to love Finnick and Katniss, and now they don't know what to do except tie a damn rope. I love someone, and they'll just pull away from my grasp, one way or another." She looked down. "I have every right to be afraid."

Grain sighed. "I didn't mean it like that" he said gently.

She looked up at him with that rage in her eyes. "Then how did you mean it!?"

He leaned in and kissed her.

He pulled away and looked her in the eye. "I meant that you might have lost everyone you love, but there are so many other people to love." He paused. "My brother and niece may be dying and my sister in law may be going crazy, but I still love you."

She starred at him for a minute. "Why do you love me?" She whispered, getting tears in her eyes. "I'm not worthy of being loved. I'm just a broken, selfish, loveless bitch."

"You're worthy of everything." He wiped away one of her tears. "And you aren't selfish, loveless, or a bitch. And you may be broken, but it doesn't matter to me."

She smiled a little. "You'll never give up, will you?"

"No."

"Then I guess I have no choice."

She leaned in and kissed him.

It took me a minute to realize I was smiling.

**So emotional. Just so emotional :'(**


	37. From Laughter To Screams

The next morning, we set off.

I smiled when I saw that Johanna and Grain we're holding hands. Finnick noticed and his forehead creased with confusion. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll never understand those two" he said. I laughed some more.

Boggs's high-tech map, the Holo, said that there was a pod down the street that could be triggered by a gun. Cressida wanted to film the squad and I setting it off. All I wanted was to get to the Capitol as fast as possible, but I did as I was supposed to.

The camera crew filmed the squad and I walking though the glass covered streets. Each of us guns out one section of window except for Johanna, who was assigned to shoot the pod. She shot the pod and all of us ran straight for cover. Then we had to redo that over and over and over again for the camera. What made it worse was that I wasn't the worst actor in the squad. Not by a long shot. Mitchell's fake surprised face was so bad it was hilarious.

"Pull it together Four-Five-One" Boggs said. But even he was trying to suppress a laugh. He stepped back onto an orange stone-

Triggering the bomb that blew off his legs.

Laughter soon turned to screams and I was blown into a wall. I couldn't see, but I wasn't sure if it was because of the suffocating amount of smoke or because I hit my head too hard and lost my sight. I tried to stand, but I fell down again. Someone was coughing heavily next to me, and I turned my head and I could just make out Boggs a few meters away. Homes ran over to him and yanked open a first aid kit. I crawled over to them and Boggs looked relieved when he saw me.

"Holo" he croaked. Holo. I had to find the Holo.

I crawled around, running my hands over the slick, blood-covered bricks, flinching when my hand touched a piece of warm flesh. I found the Holo in a stairwell next to Boggs's boot. I picked it up and crawled back to Boggs and Homes.

Boggs typed in a bunch of commands and spoke into it. "Unfit for command. Transfer of prime security clearance to Squad Four-Five-One Soldier Katniss Mellark." He used all his strength to turn it to me. "Say your name."

"Katniss Mellark" I said in pain. My throat was as dry as tree bark.

The Holo scanned its green light over my face and disappeared. I suddenly felt a hand shake my shoulder and I looked up to see Johanna with fear written all over her face. "We have to get out of here!" she screamed.

I was about to ask why when I saw a black, oily matter spout from the street we came, crashing towards us.

"Leave me here and take this!" urged Boggs, handing the Holo to me. I reluctantly grabbed it and and tried to stand up, but fell down on Homes. He lifted me up, tossed me over his shoulder, and ran down the street with Johanna at his side. Soon, other people came into view. I saw Jackson, Rye, Grain, Leeg 1, Finnick, and the camera crew, but I didn't see Mitchell and Boggs was probably dead.

We all ran into an empty house when we knew we were far enough and slammed the door. Leeg 1 found some rags to block the stuff from coming through the cracks in the doors and windows. Homes put me sitting up against a wall and I clenched my eyes shut, taking in deep breaths. Someone sat next to me.

"Are you alright Katniss?" It was Grain.

I opened my eyes and faced him. "I don't really know."

* * *

Several days passed and we were on the move again. I was the leader of the squad when Boggs made me the owner of the Holo. We passed through a few more towns and the Holo brought us to a sewer.

Jackson went first to see if there was anything that could possibly kill us, but there wasn't. We climbed down the ladder, one by one, and we slowly walked through the mucky, damp, cold sewer.

We walked for hours. The only sound we heard was the sound of our footsteps echoing off the cement walls.

But then I heard another sound.

It was very soft and distant, like a slight wind, but it was coming from behind us.

"_Katniss_..."

It was like a hiss. Everyone turned their heads to where the sound came from. No one moved or spoke. Then we heard it again.

"_Katniss_..."

I didn't know who, but somebody turned on a light.

And we saw them.

Lizard mutts.

They had white, slimy scales covering their bodies and thick, long claws and fangs. They bore their fangs and saliva dripped from their lips.

I think you can guess that I was terrified out of my mind; mutts were the reason I'd lost a leg and the reason Peeta died.

Then they pounced.

One bit its teeth into Jackson's throat and she died instantly. The rest of us sprinted down the walkway. One by one, people were picked off. I lost track of everyone, but then I realized that there were five people in front of me. I ran even faster, but the growls just got louder.

Then I saw the light.

It was faint from where I was, but I could just make it out. It was coming from the ceiling.

"The way out!" someone screamed. I ran faster than I ever had before.

The light got brighter. And brighter. And brighter, and brighter. And finally I was there.

I was the last one to climb up the ladder. I ran up the rungs, two at a time.

"Grab on!" someone screamed. I looked up to see Rye with his hand extended to me. I grabbed on and he pulled me up.

"We did it" breathed Finnick. I looked around and saw Grain, Johanna and Cressida had made it too. Rye pulled me into a hug while we were sitting-

And the mutt clamped its jaws around my fake foot and pulled me and Rye back down into the sewer.


	38. The End

I suddenly wasn't in the sewers anymore.

I was in my first Games, when Cato pushed me off the Cornucopia and I fell into the wolf mutts.

I hit the ground and the mutts started scratching and biting at me. I tried to get up, but I was pushed to the ground again.

Well, this is it.

I'm gonna die.

I looked up through the many mutt heads and saw Johanna, Finnick, Cressida and Grain starring down at us through the sewer opening with fear filled eyes, not knowing what to do. I looked to my side and saw That Rye was getting torn up, but not as much as me. At least that I was grateful for.

I was only down there for seconds, but it felt like years. I bled and screamed as they yanked the flesh off of my bones and tore their claws into my muscles. My vision was getting blurry and I started seeing black spots. I could already feel the life slipping out of me...

"Cl-Close the-e open-ning" I said with an immense amount of difficulty.

"NO!" they all screamed.

"We-e're almost de-ead" Rye said.

"Ju-ust do i-it bef-fore th-they c-can ge-get yo-ou" I said. I was having trouble breathing. "An-And tel-ll P-P-Peeta an-and A-An-Angel I l-love th-th-them."

"We aren't closing the door" Grain said firmly.

"D-Do it br-bro, f-for Kit-Kitten and I-I" Rye pleaded.

But the door stayed open. I sighed and slowly felt the pain disappear...

Then door closed shut-

And my heart stopped beating.


	39. We Are Young

**Ha ha, I wouldn't end the story like that. I barely even started killing the people I wanted to eliminate! I just wanted to freak all of you out :P**

I woke up, gasping for air.

I was still in the sewers, but the mutts were gone. My body was numb, but when I looked down at myself, I looked worse than I did after the Capitol tortured me. And that's saying something.

I tried to sit up, but my body felt like it was engulfed with flames and I laid down again.

"Kitten!"

I turned my head to see Rye siting over me. He looked bitten up, but it was a lot better than I thought he would be. "Thank goodness you're alive!"

My eyes widened. "W-Wait, I d-died?" I was still having trouble speaking.

He nodded. "Yeah. After the door closed, the mutts went down the hall. It took me a while, but I got up and found out that you were dead, so I did CPR and..." He curled his legs up to his chest. "You scared me Kitten."

It was then I realized just how young Rye really was. He was a sixteen year old baker that loved to make jokes and call me Kitten. I was a seventeen year old Victor of two Hunger Games, a wife, a mother, a survivor of Capitol torture, and the symbol of the rebellion.

Maybe it wasn't that Rye was so young, but that I was growing up too fast.

I smiled a little. "You c-can't get rid of me th-that easily."

Rye smiled too and took off his uniform jacket. He ripped the already shredded material into bandages and tied them around the places that were bleeding the most.

"J-Just leave me-e here Rye" I said. "It's no u-use. I lost t-too much blood."

"I'm not going to Kitten" he said. "I'll get you out of here."

I sighed. "I d-dodged death s-s-so many times in my-y life, I might as well g-go no-now."

"You're getting out of here" he said. I gave up trying. I was too tired.

My fake leg was nothing but a broken piece of metal, so he detached it from my thigh and put it on the side, surprisingly unfazed. When he finished, I sat up and Rye stood up on two shaky knees and started climbing up the ladder. He got to the top and tried to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge. He tried pushing harder, but he stopped. "I think... I think it only opens from the outside..."

No. No no no no no no no no NO!

"We-We're tr-tr-trapped" I said. Rye nodded.

He climbed down the ladder and sat down next to me. "What do we do?" He asked.

I sighed. "I d-don't really know..." I looked down the hall. "We can al-always go back the way we-e came, but the m-mutts are-"

"No, they went the other way" Rye said. "I saw them."

"But it's mi-miles long and I only have o-one leg. And how d-do we know if there isn't so-something waiting to-o kill us down th-there?"

He sighed. "We don't." He stood up. "But we will get out of here, one way or another."

* * *

It was taking forever.

Rye was trying to help me walk, but with one leg and so much blood loss, you'd be surprised how extremely it is. I got maybe five yards until I had to sit down.

"We can do this" he said. "C'mon."

He helped me up. "Let me carry you."

"Are you sure you can hold my weight?" I asked.

Rye snorted. "I may not be as strong as Peeta, but I can hold _you_."

I reluctantly let him lift me up bridal style and he started walking. Rye had no trouble. I realized that I probably weighed less than him, and if he was related to Peeta, he had muscles. I probably weighed nothing to him.

The tunnel was covered with blood and bodies. We passed a few pods that had ready been set off in all the chaos, leaving burn marks and darts and bullets and fog clouds of toxin. I shuddered and closed my eyes when I saw Jackson's remnants. We finally passed the battle scene and we were on our way down the tunnel.

Rye walked for a few more hours. "You can stop for a minute, if you want" I said. He was starting to look tired out. He nodded and put me sitting up against the wall and sat next to me. I stretched out my leg out in front of me and Rye wiped the sweat off his forehead.

We sat silently for a minute, trying to get the images of the bodies out of our minds.

Then we heard it.

"_Katniss_..."

Shit.

Rye slowly turned around and we saw them.

The lizard mutts.

Not again!

There weren't as many as before, but they were still there. Without a second thought, Rye started running. The mutts followed us, but since I didn't have to worry about running, I took an arrow out of my sheath and started shooting at them. I hit a few, but it was hard to aim and move at the same time.

Rye started running faster, but the mutts seemed to be getting closer. I kept shooting and hit a few more. One scratched my eye and I screamed, clenching it shut. I found enough strength in me to hit the rest of the mutts.

Finally. We got rid of them.

Rye put me against the wall. "Let me see your eye" he said panting. I opened it with as much strength as I could muster. It hurt like hell and I couldn't see anything out of it. But even in the dim light and with one eye, I saw Rye go pale.

"D-Doesn't look good, huh?" I whispered. I could barely speak.

"N-No" He said. He grabbed a make shift bandage he made before and wrapped it over my eye and around my head like an eye patch. "That'll-"

That's all I head him say.

Because the lizard bit into his throat before he could say anything else.

"NO!" I screamed. Rye collapsed to the side and I pulled an arrow out of my sheath and shot the beast in the chest, killing it.

I pulled myself over to Rye and saw that he wasn't breathing. I didn't expect him to be.

I laid his head gently on my knee and shakily ran my hand through his curly blond hair. He reminded me so much of Peeta, when he died on the beach. Except Rye was younger, and he had a brighter future than Peeta and I would ever have. I started to sing.

_"Deep in the meadow, under the willow,_

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow._

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes._

_And when they wake, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, and here it's warm._

_Here the daisies guard you for every harm._

_Here is the place where your dreams come true,_

_And here is the place where I love you."_

If Rye didn't do CPR, I would be dead. And if Rye wasn't leaning over me, I would be the dead one. Rye saved my life; he saved it for a reason. To save Peeta and Angel. To kill Snow. To stop the madness.

I was fed up with people saving me, no matter the reason.

I had to learn to save myself.

I pulled myself up and leaned against the wall. I was going to get out there.

For... For everyone.

For Boggs.

For Thresh.

For Wiress.

For Lotus.

For Jackson.

For Mags.

For Rue.

For Annie.

For Panem.

For Rye.

For the dead.

For those who didn't deserve to die.

Because we are all young on the inside. We are all innocent, all human. And the thing that was stopping us from being that was the Capitol.

And it had to end.


	40. The Capitol

"Shh, she's waking up!"

I slowly peeled open my eye and saw Johanna sitting over me.

What?

"Where... How... What?" I stuttered.

Johanna smiled. "We never thought you would wake up." I looked around and saw Cressida, Finnick, Grain, and a person with black stripes on her body like a tiger. We were all in a dark room and I was covered in bandages.

"Wh-Where am I?" I asked.

Cressida pointed to the tiger lady. "This is Tigris. When we closed you and Rye into the tunnel, we came here, to her clothing shop to stay for a while."

"But how did I get here?" All I remembered was walking along the wall in the dark tunnel.

Finnick shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we after we closed the door, we didn't do anything, we just sat there. Then we realized that the growling stopped and we heard the mutts walking away. It was silent at first, but then we faintly heard you and Rye talking. We tried to open the door, but it was sealed shut." So it wasn't that the door could only be opened from one side, but it was locked. "Then you and Rye started walking down the tunnel, and we bust the door open. But the noise caused the mutts to come out from the other end and..." He pointed to my bandaged eye.

"We found you half a mile from Rye's body" Grain whispered.

"It-It happened so fast..." I said. "I couldn't do anything..."

"It's not your fault" Johanna whispered.

I nodded slightly, unconvinced. Rye died because of me. So did everybody else.

* * *

We stayed in Tigris's shop for a few more days. Tigris never talked; she just gave us food and blankets, keeping us comfortable. When it was time to go, Tigris gave us Capitol clothing and did our makeup so we could blend in. But I would be the hardest to blend in; I was missing a leg and an eye, not to mention that I was the symbol of the rebellion and most wanted.

Cressida gave Tigris a hug. "Thank you" she said. Tigris only nodded.

We headed out the door and I got to see how the city really was. The buildings, the streets, the people, everything looked not frightening, but frightened. The windows were either boarded up or had their curtains drawn. The Capitol citizens that were usually witty and perky were tense, pulling their jackets tighter around themselves, pulling the hands of their children to get them to walk faster. And there were pods. Everywhere. It made me shudder.

The four of them surrounded me to block me from the eyes of suspicious Peacekeepers. I used the fancy cane that Tigris gave me to walk through the crowds of evacuating citizens.

Then the guns went off.

The crowds erupted into screams. I looked up to see a crowd of rebels, shooting down on the people. The Peacekeepers started shooting back and the citizens started running for their lives. Grain pulled Johanna though the crowd who pulled Cressida who pulled Finnick who pulled me.

The city was in complete panic. Pods started going off, killing thirty at a time. In the chaos, I got pushed and lost my grip on Finnick's hand.

"Katniss!" He screamed. I tried to find him again, but I couldn't.

One of the Peacekeepers must've heard Finnick call my name, because they looked right at me. His eyes widened and he ran over to me. I tried to run away, but I couldn't get very far with one leg. He grabbed my arm, pulled a needle out, and pricked me.

I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up in a cell.

No, not a cell. The cell I was in during my torture.

Shit.

I sat up and saw that I was only wearing my tang top and shorts. I rubbed my shoulders to keep warm when I saw something stir in the corner.

No, someone.

"Who's there?" asked a raspy voice. But I knew that voice anywhere.

"Peeta?"


	41. Story Telling

"K-Katniss!?"

Without second thought, I pulled myself over to him and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and we styled like that for a long time. I noticed that he was banged up, but not as bad as I thought he would be.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You... You first" he said.

"Well, Finnick, Johanna, Grain, Rye, I, the rest of squad 451 and the camera crew were coming to save you and Angel and to kill Snow. We walked through the sewers and these lizard mutts came and killed everyone except Finnick, Johanna, Grain, Rye, Cressida and I. Rye and I were hugging when a mutt bit onto my fake leg and pulled Rye and I down..." Peeta's eyes widened. "It was like our first games, when I fell off the Cornucopia into the wolves. Except these were more vicious and..." I shuddered, remembering the experience. "Rye and I told them to close the door, that we were gonna die, and they argued at first, but then they closed it and I..."

"You what?" Peeta asked.

"I died" I said bluntly.

"What!?"

"Shh, let me finish. I woke up and found out that Rye did CPR. Then he cleaned up my injuries and took off my broken prosthetic leg an dried to open he door, but it was locked. So he started carrying me towards the way we came, when the lizards came again, giving me this." I pointed to my eye patch. "I thought I shot all of them and Rye put me down. Then a lizard came behind him and... Bit him in the throat..."

Peeta went pale. "Rye..."

"He died before I could get to him" I whispered. Peeta buried his face in his hands. I couldn't understand how he must've felt. Sure, Rye was my brother, but I didn't know him as long as Peeta had, or shared the same moments with him, or had that special brother bond.

I continued. "Rye's death encouraged me to move forward, but with the amount of blood loss, I passed out and Finnick, Johanna, Cressida and Grain found me. They brought me to a shop owned by a friend of Cressida's, Tigris, and today we decided to go to the Capitol. Then the rebels started shooting the citizens and I lost everyone. A Peacekeeper sedated me and I woke up here."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that" he said.

"It's not your fault" I said, running a hand through his hair. "You should tell me your story now."

He sighed. "I'll start from when I was in Thirteen. I had Angel in my arms when I got shot. I blacked out and woke up here. Then Snow visited me and told me you were dead and..." He shuddered.

"I'm here" I whispered. He only nodded.

"I wasn't tortured physically like I thought I would be. Instead, I listened as they, they..."

"They what?" I asked slowly.

He looked at the floor and mumbled something. "What'd they do?" I asked.

"They hurt her."

"Who?"

"Angel."

My whole world seemed to stop spinning. "Wh-What did they do?"

"I-I don't know. I only listened to her screams and cries..." I curled my knees up to my chest. My baby...

Peeta wrapped his arms around me. "She's only five months old. They can't do too much to her without killing her."

I don't know if that made me feel better or worse.


	42. Death

"It's nice to see you again, Miss Everdeen" Snow said.

"Mellark" I growled.

He smiled and ignored me. "And I see you enjoyed our special treat in the tunnels, did you not?" He pointed to my eye patch.

"Go to hell" I said. His smile got wider.

"I wanted to talk to you about an execution."

"Whose?" I asked cautiously.

"Yours." I saw this coming. "And don't worry, Mr. Mellark will die with you." I felt my chest tighten.

"Please don't kill him" I said. He only laughed. Well, I did tell him to go to hell...

"Take her to the room" he told the Peacekeepers. Room?

This can't be good.

The Peacekeepers yanked me out of the chair and brought me into one of my old torture rooms. Peeta was strapped down into one of the metal chairs.

Yay.

I was strapped down into the metal chair and looked at Peeta whose eyes said he was nervous. Well, I didn't expect him to be excited.

The Peacekeepers didn't take out any knives like I expected them to. I was confused until the Peacekeeper walked in.

Holding Angel.

My heart sank. She was pale and the smile that she would always wear had disappeared completely. I saw that she was starting to grow a few curls of brown hair. My hair.

She looked at me and smiled. Well, that was quick. "Mama!"

My heart swelled. She talked!

Then they laid her down on the metal table and one took out a knife.

"Wait" I said. Angel screamed.

"President's orders" he said. He put the knife to her throat...

"STOP!" Peeta and I screamed.

And he slit Angel's throat.


	43. More Death

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't speak.

I couldn't react.

And I most definitely couldn't bear to look at Peeta.

I didn't know how I was feeling. Part of me was furious, another part was devastated, and another part was... empty. Like a part of me just died.

I think it did.

"NO!" Peeta screamed. But the Peacekeeper smiled and picked up Angel's limp body and walked out of the room, cleaning the blood off his knife...

I stared at the floor. I didn't feel Peeta's eyes on me.

I guess he couldn't bear to look at me either.

* * *

We were thrown back into our cell.

I sat on one side of the cell and Peeta sat on the other. I hugged my leg to my chest and rested my chin on my knee.

_I can't believe that just happened..._

I clenched my eye shut, begging it not to shed tears. I needed to be strong for Peeta.

That also meant I couldn't shut him out.

I realized how many times I'd done that. When we got picked from the Reaping, when that man got shot in Eleven, when I found out I was pregnant...

"Peeta" I whispered. He slowly looked at me. His blue eyes were glistening with tears.

I pulled myself over to him and he enveloped me in a hug. "You can cry" he whispered. I felt something wet hit my hand and I realized it was a tear.

"I already am" I whispered. I put my face in his chest and started sobbing.

It wasn't fair...

And suddenly, I wasn't just crying for Angel. I was crying for all the deaths I couldn't cry over enough, who there weren't enough tears for.

Rue.

Annie.

Boggs.

Lotus.

Rye.

Mags.

Angel.

Everyone that died because of me.

* * *

The next day was the execution.

I didn't really know what to think of it. Disappointed? Angry? Relieved? It was mixed.

I was still wearing the tang top and shorts, I had one leg and one eye, my eye was red from crying, my throat was hoarse from screaming, by body was weak from blood loss, I was still covered with bite marks, and I didn't give a shit.

If I was gonna die, I wanted to die being me.

The Peacekeepers were giving Peeta and I three minutes to say goodbye. It was the nicest thing they'd ever done.

Peeta held me in his arms and we didn't speak. We just needed to spend our last moments feeling each other's presence.

"Time to go" the Peackeeper sneered.

"Stay with me" I whispered.

"Always."

We were led onto the stage in front of the whole city. We saw all of the remaining Capitol people watching. They all looked devastated. I wanted to feel bad for them, but I couldn't find it in my heart. If you went through as much as me, you'd understand how small your heart becomes.

"Welcome everyone" Snow said into the microphone. No one reacted. "Today will be the execution of Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen." Mellark! "This day-"

Then we heard it.

We looked up in the sky and saw the hovercrafts go over the city. The people started screaming, but then something weird happened.

They dropped... parachutes?

They landed in the front where the children were. They picked them up in delight. In the Games, parachutes were a good sign. They opened them-

And the parachutes exploded.

The crowd erupted with screams. I looked over at Snow. He did this!

Then the medics came. I recognized my mother and Prim in the crowd, helping the injured. I thought I'd never see them again. But then I saw three other people I thought I'd lost forever.

Johanna, Finnick and Grain.

I looked over at Peeta and noticed that he a aw them too. They were running through the crowd, trying ever so desperately to get to us while there was a distraction-

And then the rest of the parachutes went off.


	44. Stop

Fire.

That's all I could see.

I was thrown into a wall and fell to the ground. I tried to look for someone, anyone that I knew, but like I said, all I saw was fire. My body was burning with flames, and I couldn't seem to move.

Well, this is it.

I'm gonna die.

It was insane how many times I'd thought that and it never happened.

I just wanted it to happen for once.

Stop the screaming.

Stop the crying.

Stop the bleeding.

Stop the pain.

Stop the fire.

Stop the war.

Stop the deaths.

Stop me.

So I stayed laying on the ground and closed my eyes...


	45. And Even More Death

I readjusted my bow.

Focus.

As it turned out, I didn't die like I'd hoped. No, Peeta found me and carried me away from the fires and the medics brought us to the hospital. There I was 'fixed' and given a new fake leg. And I was also told that my mother and Finnick didn't survive.

Just more people to cry over.

And Snow was found responsible for the bombs and was to get executed by me. I suppose I should have been grateful; I would be able to kill the man who started all of this hell, but then he told me that he didn't design those bombs.

"Remember Miss Everdeen. I thought we agreed never to lie to each other."

And there was only one other person who could have been responsible.

Coin.

It made sense anyway. Beetee was always in the lab, working on some sort of explosive project. He probably made the parachutes.

So as I prepared to shoot the bow at Snow, I made sure that I didn't move my Mockingjay suit too much in fear of the extra arrow falling out of my boot.

"Don't be afraid" Peeta whispered in my ear. "You're doing what's best." I'd told Peeta what I was going to do and he said to go through with it.

I looked at Coin who gave me a small nod. I took a deep breath-

And let the arrow fly through Coin's chest.

The crowd screamed and she slumped to the ground.

Dead.

I quickly took out my other arrow and shot Snow. He slumped down in his chains.

Dead.

The Thirteen guards grabbed my arms. I dropped my bow to the side and gave it a small kick, surrendering. Peeta tried to get to me, but the Thirteen guards pulled him back.

"KATNISS!" he screamed.

"Let him go!" I said. They ignored me.

Then a guard pulled out a gun, aimed it at my chest-

And pulled the trigger.

I clenched my eyes shut, waiting for the pain, but it never came. I opened my eyes and screamed.

Peeta laid in front of me, blood coming out of his heart.

Dead.

"NO!" I screamed. Then the guard fell forward and I saw there was an axe in his back. Johanna was standing behind him with a furious look in her eyes.

The guards started pulling me back and three others went to get Johanna. "LET ME GO!" I screamed, tears falling down my face.

I had to get to Peeta.

But they ignored me and pulled me behind the curtains. I kicked and screamed, trying to get my nightlock pill when I felt a prick in my arm.

I blacked out.


	46. The Angels Have Died

I woke up in my old room in the Training Center.

It was completely stripped of everything except a mattress, but I could recognize that room anywhere.

In the struggle, all of the wounds that were so neatly stitched up tore open again and were bleeding. I peeled off my Mockingjay suit and suddenly remembered.

The nightlock pill.

I frantically opened the small pocket, and to my dismay, found it empty. My heart sank.

So I crawled onto the mattress and curled up, naked and bleeding, hoping to bleed to death. But after a few hours, my blood clotted and left me stiff, sticky, and living.

Fuck the world.

Cause I wanted to die. I'm pretty sure that's obvious. I'd be with everyone I loved and stop causing people to die.

Stop causing anymore angels to die.

I just wanted to die.

All I wanted.

No, I needed to die.

Needed.

And why couldn't they let me!?

* * *

I was free to go.

That's what Haymitch told me.

"They found you not guilty; Coin would've been as bad as Snow." He chugged his bottle of liquor. "Good job sweetheart."

I nodded slightly. "So... where am I going?"

"District Twelve."

"But there is no District Twelve."

He sighed. "You don't know how long you were in that room. They've rebuilt a lot."

I nodded and looked out the window of the hovercraft. When I got off, I was gonna go home and kill myself.

Finally.

The hovercraft landed and Haymitch and I got off. I went to my front door and found it unlocked. I walked in-

And saw Prim.

She had tears in her eyes and was staring into the lit fireplace. I slowly walked in and feeling my presence, she turned around and looked at me.

"Oh Katniss" she said. She stood up and ran over to me and pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry about... everything."

"Shh" I said. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this. The Games, the Quell, the torture, the rescue mission, the deaths..." She started crying.

I sat on the floor and pulled her into my lap. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

She looked up at me. "Don't blame yourself. Don't you dare. It was all Snow and Coin."

"But-"

"No" she said. "I won't have it. You didn't kill, you only saved. Those who died, died for a reason." She got quieter. "Finnick shielded me with his body when the bombs went off. If he wasn't there, I'd be dead."

I didn't know that. "I'm sorry Prim" I said, getting tears in my eye.

She smiled sadly. "You've got nothing to be sorry about."

And I knew then that I couldn't die, Prim needed me. And I needed her.

We needed each other.

* * *

She finally convinced me to go hunting.

It took months, but she finally convinced me. I couldn't ignore her forever. I tried, but I couldn't. No one can ignore Prim.

So I got out of bed, got in my hunting gear, grabbed my bow, and walked out the door. The gaze of every person I passed lingered on me, even when I was long passed. They either smiled, waved, and said thank you or gave me a sympathetic look and said sorry for your loss. I just kept walking forward.

I walked into the woods. The trees seemed to hold his presence.

I sat down on my our old hunting log and starred at the spot he used to sit.

My best friend.

I could almost see his ghost sitting next to me. I tried to reach out and touch it, but it dissolved against my touch.

"Oh Peeta" I whispered. Tears rolled down my face. "What am I going to do? I can't handle life like this."

I clenched my eyes shut and took deep, shaky breaths. I listened to the wind softly blowing through the leaves and realized that Peeta never left.

He was with me.

I said I'd always stay with him, and he said he'd always stay with me.

He said always and meant always.

And nothing could ever break that promise.


	47. We Will Remember

Peeta's grave was right next to Angel's.

They were planted in the meadow, and I appreciated it. That meant I didn't have to go looking through the hundreds of stones to find the two I wanted the most.

During the funeral, I clutched Prim's hand, begging her not to let go. It's funny. It's like our roles were reversed; she was the one trying to comfort me.

There were hours of speeches and I listened to every word. How devastating the war was, how these people died as heroes of the war, how they will never be forgotten.

Oh, that's nothing to worry about.

I could never forget the war, no matter how hard I tried.

* * *

I looked at the front of the new bakery.

I was gonna do it.

I was gonna face him.

Prim said she saw the bakery was rebuilt and wanted me to visit him, so there I was. After all, he was my brother.

I gripped the handle of the new bakery and opened the door. The door chimed and I looked around. It wasn't as big as it was before, but there weren't as many people working in it. I sat at one of the small tables in the corner and put my bow on the table. I looked around and noticed just how similar it was to before...

Then he came out.

Grain.

Well, more like tumbled out.

"Stop!" He screamed playfully to someone in the kitchen. He didn't face me, but he was wearing an apron and the top half of his body was obviously coated with flour.

"Grain Mellark!" Someone screamed from the inside. Then a burst of flour flew into his face and someone covered in flour pounced on him, causing him to fall. They sat on top of him and I gasped when I saw her face.

Johanna.

Okay, now I was really confused.

She lifted up a full bag of flour. "Johanna..." Grain said. She opened it. "Don't-" She poured the whole thing on his face. He shook his head and caused the mountain of flour to explode all over the place. Johanna squealed, caught off guard, and he rolled on top of her. "Johanna Mason, you are one hard girl to trick."

She smiled and he bent down and kissed her with the whole flour mess around them. I tried so hard to suppress a laugh, but failed.

They both looked up. When they saw me, their eyes went wide and they suddenly realized what they were doing. Grain got off of Johanna and helped her up. They were both covered in flour.

"How much of that did you see?" Grain asked.

"The whole thing." They blushed and I started laughing.

"Katniss, what are you doing here?" Johanna asked, changing the subject.

I snorted. "And may I ask the same thing? What were you doing? Having a bread war?" I started laughing again. Johanna face palmed and Grain smiled.

I pulled myself together. "I came here to see Grain, but you were a nice surprise." Johanna smiled and gave me a hug. I ignored the fact that she just coated me with flour. I gave Grain one too.

We all sat down and Grain put a plate of cheesy buns in the middle of the table. Apparently, Johanna and Grain have been living together since they would've been living by themselves. Plus they enjoyed each other's company, if you know what I'm saying.

"So, how've you been?" Grain asked.

"I'm... doing good" I answered truthfully. "But I could be better."

"We all could" Johanna muttered.

"And... I've been hunting..." Grain went slightly tense. That's what Peeta and I used to do. "It's not the same" I said. "It never will be."

He nodded and looked at the table. Grain had lost his whole family except for me and Prim. And Johanna seemed to be helping, but he'll never be the same.

None of us will. Not really. Like a piece of paper; you crumple it and try to smooth it out, but it's covered in wrinkles that can't be removed. It won't be straight again.

"I'm getting water" Johanna said. She stood up, and then I noticed it.

A shimmer.

On her finger.

"Johanna, come here" I said. "She gave me a quizzical look, but walked over to my seat. "Hold out your hand."

"Why?" she asked.

"Just do it" I said. She sighed and held out her flour-covered hand.

And I saw the diamond ring.

I took her hand in mine and looked from the ring to her face to the ring to her face to the ring to her face to the ring to her face. "Y-You guys are... You're..."

Johanna smiled. "Engaged."

I finally processed it. "And when were you going to tell me!?" I asked.

Grain laughed. "I just asked her. Before you came in. That's why we were throwing flour."

Johanna quickly waved her hand dismissively. "Don't ask." I smiled.

It looked like we were all finally moving from the past.


	48. Epilogue

It's been fifteen years since Johanna and Grain got married.

I remember the day, watching them get showered with dandelions in the meadow. They were so happy. Like me, Johanna's wedding was the happiest day of her life. But we both cried when she called me from her honeymoon in District Four and said she visited Finnick and Annie's graves.

But the day she told me she was pregnant was the most hilarious day of my life. I couldn't stop laughing until Johanna left the room and came back with an axe.

And she and Grain have a twelve year old daughter.

Named Angel.

I cried for two days.

She looks just like Angel might have been like if she lived; crystal blue eyes, brown hair, beautiful smile, always picking flowers in the meadow, always laughing, always helping others, and being a, well, angel. There couldn't be a better name for her.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about what could've been, the life the three of us could've had as a family, the life all the ruined families could've had, but what happened, happened.

And, if you think about it, probably neither of the Angels would've been born if it weren't for the Hunger Games.

One day, Angel and I were laying in the meadow after she came back from school. She never asked me about my eye patch or fake leg or wedding ring; she knows that it's something not to discuss.

"Aunt Katniss?" She asked.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Well, today in school, we talked about something called the Hunger Games and..."

My heart stopped.

"What'd they say?" I asked cautiously.

"They said it was this event where two kids from each District were chosen to fight to the death in an arena, and that my mother was the winner of one?"

"That's... true" I said.

"And then you and a boy named Peeta were both Victors of one too?"

My chest tightened. "Uh... Not just any boy."

"Who?"

"Your uncle."

Her eyes widened and I sighed.

"Your mother's going to kill me for talking about this, but you deserve to know." I took a deep breath. "Peeta and I, we were best friends..."

**THE END!**

**YAY!**

**I'm like crying right now *tear**blows nose* I'm gonna miss writing this story!**

**Sorry guys. By now, you probably realized I'm a hyper freak who likes to kill people in my stories.**

**Anyway...**

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	49. A note to read if you liked this story

I'M BACK!

And, again, I just want to thank all of you who wrote reviews and followed my story, cause you guys all inspire me and such, blah blah blah...

But, in all seriousness, you all rock and get two thumbs up from me! XD

Now, if you liked this story, I'm writing another story that will be full length, like this, but it will be MUCH more different than how The Hunger Games was originally written. It shall be creepy (which shouldn't surprise you due to this story) and it shall be emotionally devastating (which, again, shouldn't surprise you. You all know me too well ;) ) And it will have those shocker moments, like in this story, where you read the same thing over and over and over and over and over again until it finally sinks in, then you scream and throw a cat out a window. Well, that's what I'd do ;)

It is called Sisters, and is about Katniss and Prim's sisterhood through a VERY different version of the Hunger Games. I'm not gonna tell you what it's really about, because who am I to spoil surprises? I got inspired to start this after I finished writing My Best Friend, because no matter how shocking it is, you're not the only one who was emotionally devastated, but I was too *gasp of astonishment*. I know, I know, very surprising, but true. So I wanted to make things right, and then I came up with this plan which turned into an evil plan which turned into something you might wanna read. And it starts out super confusing, then gets betterish, then you scream and cry, then it gets all action like, then it gets betterish, then you scream and cry, then it gets all action like, then you scream and cry, then it gets all action like, then you scream and cry, then it gets super confusing, then you scream and cry, then it gets super confusing, then it gets betterish, then you scream and cry, then it gets all action like, then you scream and cry, then it gets all action like, then you scream and cry, then it gets super confusing, then... that's all I got. And it all revolves around the concept of love, because what's a good story without love?

So, if you want to read Sisters or any of my other stories, check it out on my profile! And if this just kinda crushed you, read it anyway! I promise, there won't be as much death, but it is the Hunger Games, so expect to have someone you learn to love die.

Wow. That sure sounds horrible...

Hugs and Kisses,

wellthen44


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